Journalist
Yoo Joonha
joonhayoo94@ajunews.com
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KOSPI least hit by broad foreigners' regional pullout ahead of long holiday SEOUL, February 13 (AJP) -South Korean shares ended slightly lower Thursday after touching fresh record highs, the least affected in the region by broad foreign withdrawals from East Asian markets ahead of a lengthy Lunar New Year break next week. The benchmark KOSPI fell 0.28 percent to close at 5,507.01, snapping a four-day winning streak. The index climbed as high as 5,583.74 during the session, extending its record, before retreating in afternoon trading. Market flows remained volatile. Foreign investors sold a net 1.20 trillion won worth of shares, while individual and institutional investors posted modest net buying. Heavyweight stocks were mixed. Samsung Electronics gained 1.46 percent to 181,200 won, breaking above the 180,000-won level for the first time. SK hynix slipped 0.9 percent after briefly reclaiming the 900,000-won mark. Technology and battery-related shares underperformed, with LG Energy Solution and secondary battery stocks posting sharp losses, while selected industrial names showed relative resilience. On the secondary board, the KOSDAQ dropped 1.77 percent to 1,106.08, pressured by broad-based selling from foreign and institutional investors. In currency trading, the won weakened, with the dollar rising 3.30 won to 1,445.80, adding to cautious market sentiment. Postelection euphoria faded in Tokyo, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 losing 1.21 percent to 56,941.97. China’s Shanghai Composite slid 1.2 percent to 4,084.55, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 1.85 percent to 26,532.42. Looking ahead, Tokyo will operate as usual next week, while Seoul will reopen on Thursday, Hong Kong on Friday and Shanghai on Feb. 24 after the Lunar New Year holidays. 2026-02-13 16:11:00 -
Seollal in motion: More opt to travel, but tradition lives on SEOUL, February 13 (AJP) - On a quiet winter morning, the scent of beef broth fills Korean homes. A carefully arranged table is set before elders. Children bow deeply, offering New Year’s greetings — “Saehae bok mani badeuseyo,” or “May you receive many blessings in the new year.” With a bowl of tteokguk, rice cake soup, another year of life officially begins. That is Seollal, Korea’s Lunar New Year. Observed on the first day of the lunar calendar, Seollal is one of the country’s most important traditional holidays. The official break typically runs for at least three days, during which families reunite to mark the beginning of the year. While often compared to Thanksgiving in the United States or Lunar New Year celebrations in China, Seollal is distinctive in its emphasis on ancestral rites performed within the home. On the morning of Seollal, many families hold charye, a memorial ritual honoring ancestors. Younger family members perform sebae, a formal bow to elders, who in return offer words of blessing and small cash gifts known as sebaetdon. These customs reinforce intergenerational respect and a sense of family continuity. At the center of the holiday meal is tteokguk. The white rice cake soup symbolizes renewal and purity, while its long, thin slices are traditionally associated with longevity. A common saying holds that one must eat tteokguk to “become a year older.” Although the clear-broth version is the most widely known, regional variations abound — from the oval-shaped rice cakes of Gaeseong-style soup to oyster-based versions in southeastern regions and dumpling-filled broths in Gangwon Province. After the rituals and meals, families often turn to traditional games. The most familiar is yutnori, a board game played by tossing four wooden sticks and moving tokens based on the result. Its simple rules allow children and grandparents alike to join in. In the past, Seollal also featured outdoor folk games such as jegichagi (shuttlecock kicking), kite flying, spinning tops, tuho (throwing arrows into a container), and neolttwigi (a seesaw-like jumping game). In today’s urban neighborhoods, many of these activities are more commonly seen at cultural festivals or school programs. A Nation on the Move Seollal is also marked by one of the largest annual movements of people in South Korea. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, about 27.8 million trips are projected during the 2026 holiday period. While this is lower than the 32.07 million recorded in 2025, the decline largely reflects a shorter break — four days this year compared with six last year. On a daily basis, travel intensity is expected to rise, averaging 8.34 million people per day, up from 7.63 million the previous year. Highway traffic is forecast to peak at 6.15 million vehicles on Seollal itself, as travel compresses into a narrower time window. The concentration highlights how the structure of the holiday calendar shapes nationwide mobility patterns. At the same time, the meaning of Seollal has evolved. A recent survey found that 31.4 percent of respondents plan to travel during the holiday, with most choosing domestic destinations. While visiting one’s hometown was once the central obligation of the season, leisure travel is increasingly becoming part of the celebration. Smaller family sizes, changing work patterns and shifting social expectations have also altered how households observe the holiday. Some families shorten visits, rotate gatherings, or replace formal rituals with simpler meals. Yet even as formats change, certain symbols endure. The deep bow. The shared meal. The steaming bowl of tteokguk on a winter morning. These remain constant. 2026-02-13 14:34:19 -
Winter Olympics '26: Asia shines on snow and ice with teen snowboarder's gold SEOUL, February 13 (AJP) -Asian athletes continued to command attention on the eighth day of competition at the Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, highlighted by South Korean snowboarder Choi Ga-on’s landmark gold medal and podium finishes by skaters from China and Japan. Choi delivered the defining moment of the day in the women’s snowboard halfpipe final. After qualifying in sixth place, she rose to the occasion with a decisive final run, scoring 90.25 points to claim gold. American favorite Chloe Kim, who had topped qualification, settled for silver with 88.00, while Japan’s Ono Mitsuki surged from 11th in qualifying to take bronze with 85.00. The halfpipe final emerged as the day’s standout Asian showcase. In short track speed skating, China’s Sun Long claimed silver in the men’s 1,000 meters, while South Korea’s Rim Jong-un secured bronze in 1 minute 24.611. Gold went to the Netherlands’ Jens van ’t Wout, who clocked 1 minute 24.537. Rim’s podium finish added to Korea’s tally, reinforcing its depth in short track competition. In curling, South Korea’s women’s team — Gim Eun-ji, Kim Min-ji, Kim Su-ji, Seol Ye-eun and Seol Ye-ji — fell 4-8 to the United States in round-robin play before rebounding with a 7-2 victory over host nation Italy. As of Day 8, Japan stands 10th overall in the medal table with two gold, two silver and six bronze medals. South Korea ranks 11th with one gold, one silver and two bronze, while China sits 16th with two silver and two bronze. Choi’s triumph in Livigno, which stole the Olympic spotlight, also marked a turning point in South Korea’s winter sports history. Long dominant in skating disciplines, the country is now expanding its presence in snow events, signaling a broader and more balanced Olympic profile. 2026-02-13 11:10:44 -
KOSPI lands above another 5,500 milestone SEOUL, February 12 (AJP) —South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI towered over regional peers on Thursday, setting a fresh record above the 5,500 mark on strong foreign and institutional buying. The benchmark index rose 3.1 percent to close at 5,522.3, up 167.8 points on the session. Foreign investors bought a net 3.0013 trillion won ($2.08 billion), while institutions added 1.3668 trillion won. Retail investors sold 4.4474 trillion won, locking in gains after the recent rally. Large-cap technology shares led the advance. Samsung Electronics jumped 6.4 percent to 178,600 won after announcing shipments of its HBM4 memory chips, with performance said to exceed industry standards. Woori Technology rose 10.3 percent to 13,620 won, while POSCO DX gained 9.4 percent to 41,150 won amid renewed attention on automation and robotics themes ahead of the “AW 2026” smart factory and automation exhibition, which will feature major Chinese technology brands. Hyundai ADM Bio surged 30 percent to 5,680 won following research updates related to drug-delivery mechanisms in cancer treatment. Among decliners, Hyundai Motor fell 0.6 percent to 506,000 won, LG Electronics dropped 5.1 percent to 121,400 won after the previous session’s sharp gains, and Kakao edged down 0.2 percent to 58,800 won. The tech-heavy KOSDAQ rose 3.5 percent to 816.3, up 27.5 points. On the secondary board, foreigners sold a net 105 billion won, while institutions and retail investors bought 69.1 billion won and 85.6 billion won, respectively. The Korean won strengthened against the U.S. dollar, closing at 1,441.4 per dollar, up 6.6 won, or 0.5 percent. The dollar index stood at 96.94, reflecting broader dollar softness. In the region, Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.02 percent to 57,639.8 after gaining a cumulative 3,832.5 points between Feb. 6 and Feb. 10 ahead of the general election. China’s Shanghai Composite closed at 4,134.02, extending its advance, with the index up 68.4 points over the past four sessions since Feb. 9. 2026-02-12 17:36:54 -
BTS Comeback D-37: Built different, the Suga equation *Editor’s Note — As BTS prepares to return as a full seven-member act with a new album set for March 20 and an open-stage performance at Gwanghwamun on March 21, following a near four-year hiatus for rotational military service, AJP revisits the group’s 13-year trajectory. This series reexamines BTS’s history, music, performance identity and enduring appeal. The Third installment traces the BTS member SUGA's roots and growth. SEOUL, February 12 (AJP) - “Butter” by BTS recently crossed 4 million cumulative points on Japan’s Oricon Weekly Combined Single Ranking. At first glance, the milestone looked like another routine addition to the group’s sprawling archive of records ahead of its comeback. But the number tells a deeper story. Unlike charts based solely on physical sales, Oricon’s Weekly Combined Single Ranking converts multiple consumption formats into a unified score. One physical single sold equals one point, as does one full-track digital download, while streaming figures are converted according to Oricon’s weighted formula. Points are accumulated weekly, meaning the 4 million threshold reflects sustained, long-term consumption rather than a short-lived surge. In Japan’s domestic market — where local artists typically dominate cumulative rankings — surpassing 4 million points is widely regarded as a marker of durable purchasing power. Released on May 21, 2021, “Butter” spent 10 weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100. Crossing the 4 million-point mark on Oricon made it the first such achievement by an overseas act and only the second overall — a reminder that BTS’s commercial gravity has not faded during its members’ staggered military service. At the structural core of that trajectory stands rapper and producer Suga (Min Yoon-gi, born March 9, 1993). Unlike many idol rappers whose roles remain performance-centered, Suga’s influence extends into composition, arrangement, and conceptual direction. More than 100 songs are registered under his name at the Korea Music Copyright Association. He has contributed to defining BTS tracks such as “I Need U,” “Spring Day,” and “Life Goes On,” the latter becoming the first Korean-language song to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in December 2020. His solo career operates under a different logic. Performing as Agust D — a name derived from reversing “DT SUGA,” with “DT” referring to “Daegu Town” — he foregrounds authorship and locality within a global pop framework. His 2016 mixtape Agust D reached No. 3 on Billboard’s World Albums chart. D-2, released in 2020, entered the Billboard 200 at No. 11. The title track “Daechwita” accumulated 17 million views within 24 hours of release and has since surpassed 500 million views on YouTube. By the time D-DAY debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 in 2023, the arc was unmistakable: a transition from group rapper to independently touring artist. His world tour, which began on April 26, 2023, spanned 10 cities and 28 performances, drawing more than 290,000 attendees — figures usually reserved for established solo acts rather than first-time headliners. Collaboration has served as another extension of his authorship. He produced and featured on “Eight” with IU, co-produced and appeared on “That That” with PSY, and partnered with Halsey on “Lilith.” Each project expanded his reach beyond BTS’s immediate ecosystem. Behind the numbers lies a long record of physical and emotional endurance. During his trainee years, Suga sustained a serious shoulder injury in a traffic accident while working a delivery job. He later revealed on tvN’s You Quiz on the Block that he performed for years while receiving injections, before eventually undergoing surgery in November 2020. The injury later influenced his assignment during mandatory military service. He was discharged on June 21, 2025. In Daegu, murals near Myeongdeok Station now mark the neighborhood where his early studio once stood. Global chart dominance has translated into a physical landmark — an unusual trajectory for a rapper who once operated in the underground under the name “Gloss.” Four million Oricon points. Ten weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100. A No. 2 debut on the Billboard 200. More than 100 registered copyrights. Over 500 million YouTube views. A 290,000-attendance world tour. Individually, each figure signals scale. Taken together, they outline something more enduring: a producer who has built parallel credibility inside and outside one of the world’s largest music groups. Major chart records, hundreds of millions of views, global touring power, and years of performing through injury — these are not merely statistics. They trace a career constructed on both expansion and resilience. The next installment will track RM. 2026-02-12 16:15:13 -
Winter Olympics '26: Korean snowboarders advance halfpipe finals as Asian nations add medals SEOUL, February 12 (AJP) - Korea made Olympic history in snowboard halfpipe as Choi Ga-on and Lee Chae-un both advanced to the finals in the qualification rounds at the XXV Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026. Competing at the Livigno Snow Park in Italy, Choi placed sixth overall in the women’s qualification among 24 riders, earning 82.25 points in her opening run to rank third at one stage. The 17-year-old executed a 4.2-meter aerial during her routine. The event was topped by Chloe Kim of the United States with 90.25 points, followed by Japan’s Sara Shimizu with 87.50 and Maddie Mastro of the United States with 86.00. The top 12 riders progressed to the final. In the men’s qualification, Lee Chae-un secured ninth place among 25 competitors with 82.00 points in his first run, comfortably inside the top 12 cutoff. His routine featured five successful jumps, including a backside double cork 1080. Australia’s Scotty James led the field with 90.25 points, while Japan’s Totsuka Yuto posted 91.25 and Yamada Ryusei recorded 90.25. It marks the first time South Korean snowboarders have reached an Olympic halfpipe final in both the men’s and women’s events. In speed skating, China’s Ning Zhongyan claimed bronze in the men’s 1,000 meters with a time of 1:07.34. Jordan Stolz of the United States won gold with 1:06.28, followed by Jenning de Boo of the Netherlands in 1:06.78. During the race, China’s Lian Ziwen was disqualified for obstructive driving after a lane-change collision. Under speed skating regulations, priority is given to the skater moving from the outer lane to the inner lane, and officials ruled that Lian hindered a rival. Korea’s speed skater Koo Kyung-min finished 10th in the same event with a time of 1:08.53. In biathlon, Ekaterina Avvakumova placed 63rd in the women’s 15km individual with a time of 47:18.2. In freestyle skiing, Yoon Shin-yi concluded 24th in women’s moguls qualification round two with 64.46 points after scoring 59.4 in the first round. Japan added to its medal tally in ski jumping, earning bronze in the mixed team event at the Predazzo Ski Jumping Stadium. The quartet of Maruyama, Kobayashi, Takanashi and Nikaido combined for 1,034.0 points. Slovenia secured gold with 1,069.2, while Norway took silver with 1,038.3. Norway remained atop the overall standings as of 11:00 a.m. KST on February 11. Among Asian delegations, Japan ranked ninth with two gold, two silver and four bronze medals. China stood 14th with one silver and two bronze, while South Korea followed in 15th place with one silver and one bronze. 2026-02-12 14:06:42 -
KOSPI stands out as regional winner as Tokyo stays closed SEOUL, February 11 (AJP) -South Korean shares emerged as regional winners on Wednesday, with Japanese markets closed for the National Foundation Day, as strong foreign and institutional buying and easing currency pressure lifted investor sentiment. The benchmark KOSPI rose 1.0 percent to close at 5,354.5, extending its rebound as heavyweight stocks regained momentum. The KOSPI 200 advanced 1.02 percent to 788.8, reflecting renewed strength in large-cap names. Foreign and institutional investors led the rally. Foreigners posted net purchases of 847.4 billion won ($582 million), while institutions added 689.6 billion won. Retail investors locked in gains, selling 1.71 trillion won, underscoring a rotation out of recent outperformers. Technology and industrial shares drove advances. Samsung Electronics climbed 1.2 percent to 167,800 won, while Hyundai Motor surged 5.9 percent to 509,000 won. Nuclear power–related stocks rallied sharply. Woori Technology soared 30 percent to 12,350 won on expectations that its domestically developed nuclear control systems would benefit from ongoing reactor construction and future decommissioning projects. LG Electronics jumped 23 percent to 127,900 won, hitting a fresh high, as investors piled into the stock on expectations that it could gain from the expansion of physical AI businesses. The rally accelerated mid-morning as the theme gained traction, with LG seen as a potential beneficiary of next-generation robotics, smart devices and AI-integrated hardware ecosystems. In contrast, chip and battery stocks showed mixed performance. SK hynix fell 1.8 percent to 860,000 won, while Samsung SDI slipped 1.1 percent to 377,000 won amid reports that Stellantis is reviewing its stake in their U.S. battery joint venture as part of broader restructuring efforts. Concerns over EV-sector profitability weighed on sentiment in select battery names. The tech-heavy KOSDAQ edged down 0.03 percent to 1,114.9, as gains in select mid-cap shares were offset by profit-taking. Foreign investors bought 2.1 billion won, while institutions added 75.5 billion won. Retail investors sold 48.4 billion won. The Korean won strengthened against the U.S. dollar, providing additional support for equities. The currency rose to 1,453 won per dollar, up 6.0 won, or 0.41 percent, easing pressure on foreign capital flows. Precious metals declined alongside a firmer dollar tone. International gold prices fell 1.0 percent to $5,031.0 per troy ounce, while silver dropped 2.2 percent to $80.4 per ounce. Across Asia, markets showed a mixed tone. With Tokyo closed for the National Foundation Day holiday, regional direction was muted. China’s Shanghai Composite was little changed, inching up 0.2 percent to 4,134.4, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index traded mostly flat as investors consolidated recent gains. 2026-02-11 17:58:13 -
BTS Comeback D-39: The secret behind sellout in BTS tours SEOUL, February 10 (AJP) - The lightning sellout at the latest ticket opening for BTS’ two shows at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium has become a familiar pattern across the global ticket window for the group’s first full seven-member world tour in nearly four years. Both nights vanished within 30 minutes, filling a venue that holds roughly 62,000 people per concert almost instantly. Over two evenings, close to 120,000 fans are expected to pass through the gates. At this point, BTS’ touring operation has reached a scale where success is no longer event-driven, but structural. Euphoria over a long-awaited comeback and the devotion of the fandom only partially explain the response—especially in a city that likes to remind visitors it is where pop music “began.” Fans agree the wait is worth it, and the reason, they say, lies not just in spectacle but in setlists. Across more than a decade on the road, BTS have quietly turned the concert setlist into a repeatable system—one that evolved from improvisation to standardization, and then toward controlled flexibility. Tracing that arc shows how a group that once tested songs in small rooms came to command stadiums with industrial consistency. The story begins far from London. BTS’ first full-scale tour, 2015 BTS LIVE TRILOGY: EPISODE II. THE RED BULLET, comprised just 12 shows. Even then, it was unusually ambitious, crossing four continents through Kuala Lumpur, Sydney, Melbourne, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Mexico City, São Paulo, Santiago, Bangkok and Hong Kong. The itinerary hinted early at a global ceiling far above typical rookie acts. Those early setlists reflected the moment. Rather than leaning on chart dominance, the group built performances around identity. Songs such as “N.O,” “We Are Bulletproof Pt.2” and “No More Dream” opened shows, followed by “BTS Cypher Pt.2” and “Pt.3,” “If I Ruled the World” and “Paldo Gangsan.” The concerts were heavy on talk segments, light on spectacle and flexible night to night. The goal was not polish, but proof—testing which songs could survive outside the studio. Two tracks that would later become staples, “Dope” and “I Need U,” first distinguished themselves in this environment. Long before they became statistical anchors of later tours, they proved durable in rooms where audience reaction could not be engineered. Over time, those reactions accumulated into data. Aggregating setlists across BTS’ world tours shows that “Dope” has been performed 162 times, making it the most-played song in the group’s touring history. “Fire” follows with 137 performances, and “I Need U” with 130. These figures do not simply reflect popularity; they represent endurance—songs that deliver kinetic payoff across arenas and stadiums, languages and markets, regardless of context. The first attempt to formalize that reliability came with the Love Yourself tour. Instead of rewriting shows city by city, BTS adopted a hybrid model. Most of the 24 to 27-song setlist remained fixed, while a five-song block was deliberately left open. In that rotating section, tracks such as “Boy In Luv,” “Fire,” “Dope” and “Blood Sweat & Tears” were swapped depending on region and response. The effect was subtle but consequential. Japanese shows leaned toward emotionally resonant mid-era tracks like “I Need U,” while U.S. and European dates favored high-impact performance pieces such as “Fire” and “MIC Drop.” Localization became strategy rather than instinct. That experiment ended with Speak Yourself, BTS’ first full stadium tour. Here, flexibility gave way to uniformity. Every stop—Seoul, Paris or Los Angeles—featured essentially the same setlist, running about 24 songs from start to finish. Production cues, camera paths, pyrotechnics and pacing were locked. The concert was no longer modular but standardized, designed to deliver identical value at scale. Only once did that standard break. At the final Seoul show, “IDOL” was inserted into the encore while “Run” was removed—the sole deviation across dozens of performances, a symbolic nod to the tour’s point of origin rather than a logistical shift. The pandemic-era Permission to Dance On Stage series marked the next evolution. The framework held, but select sections regained elasticity. Five to seven songs per night rotated within predefined roles—consolation, celebration, collective catharsis. Tracks such as “Young Forever,” “Answer: Love Myself” and “We Are Bulletproof: The Eternal” were exchanged without altering the emotional arc of the show. Crucially, collaboration entered the touring equation. In November 2021 at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium, Megan Thee Stallion appeared onstage for a live rendition of the “Butter” remix. At other dates, Coldplay’s Chris Martin joined for “My Universe.” These moments were not spontaneous detours; they were accommodated by design. The setlist had evolved from a fixed sequence into a system defined by function. Seen in that light, the London sellout feels less like a milestone than an outcome. In Japan, BTS concerts continue to emphasize localized arrangements and emotional continuity. In North America and Europe, energy-forward tracks like “Dope” and “Fire” anchor the early stages of the show. Across Asia, choreography-driven numbers are paired with fan anthems to intensify collective response. The template adapts; the structure holds. The contrast is stark. In 2015, BTS crossed four continents in 12 mid-sized shows, testing material in rooms that could not absorb error. A decade later, the same group fills a 62,000-seat stadium in London—twice—without altering the core mechanics of its performance model. The journey from small venues to stadiums was not propelled by viral moments alone, but by an increasingly precise understanding of how live music scales. That understanding is embedded in the numbers. “Dope” at 162 performances, “Fire” at 137, “I Need U” at 130—figures that chart the quiet evolution of a touring system refined over years of iteration. BTS’ world tour is no longer a sequence of dates. It is an operational framework, tested in small rooms, validated on global stages and now capable of filling stadiums on demand. 2026-02-10 17:04:58 -
Asian markets advance on Japan-led risk rally; Korean stocks mixed SEOUL, February 10 (AJP) - Asian markets rose Tuesday after Japan’s postelection surge extended into a second session, setting the tone for regional trading as South Korean stocks lagged the rally. Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 2.3 percent to close at 57,650.5, marking a second straight record. The benchmark has risen more than 6 percent in the two days since the election, as investors welcomed policy continuity and prospects for aggressive fiscal support. Elsewhere, China’s Shanghai Composite edged up 0.2 percent to 4,130.1, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.5 percent to 27,159.2. South Korean stocks lagged the regional rally. The benchmark KOSPI closed nearly flat, up 0.07 percent at 5,301.7, as institutional and foreign buying was offset by profit-taking from retail investors. The KOSPI 200 slipped 0.02 percent to 780.8, reflecting mixed performance among heavyweight shares. On the main board, institutions bought a net 563.9 billion won, while foreign investors added 143.7 billion won ($98.4 million). Retail investors sold 873.7 billion won, trimming exposure after recent gains. Sector performance was selective. Industrial and construction-related names showed relative strength, while technology shares weighed on the index. Samsung Electronics slipped 0.4 percent to 165,800 won, and SK hynix fell 1.2 percent to 876,000 won. The tech-heavy KOSDAQ underperformed, declining 1.1 percent to 1,115.2, as investors rotated out of smaller-cap growth stocks. Foreign investors sold 216.1 billion won, and institutions offloaded 81.1 billion won, while retail investors bought 324.4 billion won, providing partial support. Among individual movers, Hanon Systems surged 17.9 percent to 4,570 won, and Daewoo Engineering & Construction jumped 22.4 percent to 7,060 won amid controversy over a canceled redevelopment bidding process. Emart climbed 9.6 percent to 117,600 won on expectations of strong holiday-season demand at its warehouse-style stores, while NAVER rose 1.6 percent to 254,000 won after securing a major enterprise collaboration contract with Catholic Medical Center. In currency markets, the won weakened slightly, with the dollar closing up 1.00 won at 1,460.50. Commodity prices strengthened amid renewed demand for hard assets. Gold rose 2.0 percent to $5,079.4 per troy ounce, while silver surged 6.9 percent to $82.23 per ounce. 2026-02-10 17:04:43 -
Assured leadership in Japan and AI bet refuel Asian markets SEOUL, February 09 (AJP) - Reinforced political leadership in Japan and renewed optimism over artificial intelligence helped refuel Asian equities on Monday, reversing much of last week’s sharp selloff. Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped after the ruling Liberal Democratic Party secured a landslide election victory, strengthening support for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and her “strong Japan” agenda. The Nikkei closed up 2.9 percent at 56,363.9, after briefly breaking above the 57,000 mark. The upbeat mood in Tokyo set the tone across the region, lifting Korean equities in a broad-based rebound. South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI surged 4.1 percent to 5,298.04, while the KOSPI 200 jumped 4.4 percent to 780.9, marking one of the strongest daily gains in recent months. The tech-heavy KOSDAQ also advanced sharply, rising 4.3 percent to 1,127.6. Buying was driven primarily by foreign and institutional investors. On the main board, overseas investors bought 441.5 billion won ($302 million), while institutions added 2.71 trillion won. Retail investors took profits, selling 3.30 trillion won. A similar pattern emerged on the KOSDAQ, where foreigners bought 162.8 billion won and institutions added 484.5 billion won, while individuals sold 605.9 billion won. Sector-wise, gains were led by electrical equipment, energy and semiconductor shares, as optimism returned to AI, power infrastructure and defense themes. HD Hyundai Electric jumped 10.8 percent to 931,000 won, standing out among power equipment names. Semiconductor heavyweights rallied after Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, said artificial intelligence had entered a phase of generating tangible profits, helping revive global AI-related sentiment. Samsung Electronics climbed 4.9 percent to 166,400 won, while SK hynix advanced 5.7 percent to 887,000 won. Energy and defense names were also in demand. Hanwha Solutions surged 13.6 percent to 47,700 won, while Doosan Enerbility rose 7.2 percent to 95,400 won. Hyundai Motor gained 2.3 percent to 478,000 won. Hanwha Aerospace added 1.02 percent to 1,193,000 won after reporting record results. The company posted 2025 revenue of 26.61 trillion won and operating profit of 3.03 trillion won, up 137 percent and 75 percent year on year, respectively, marking its third consecutive year of record earnings. Growth was driven by its land defense and aerospace businesses, as well as the full-year consolidation of Hanwha Ocean. Among a handful of losers, Sampyo Cement slid 14.2 percent to 16,860 won, while EM&I plunged 21 percent to 1,084 won and Koiz fell 16.6 percent to 3,720 won. In currency trading, the won strengthened modestly, closing at 1,460.6 per dollar, up 0.3 percent from the previous session, as improved risk sentiment supported Asian currencies. Elsewhere in the region, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.4 percent to 4,123.1, extending gains alongside the broader Asian rally. 2026-02-09 17:52:25