Seoul Mayoral Candidates Exchange Final Attacks Ahead of Election As the June 3 local elections approach, Jung Won-oh of the Democratic Party and Oh Se-hoon of the People Power Party have exchanged sharp criticisms of each other. Jung's camp claimed that Oh's decade-long tenure as mayor has been marked by incompetence, irresponsibility, and wartime administration. They attributed recent issues, such as the omission of rebar at the GTX Samsung Station and the Seosomun overpass accident, to Oh's alleged negligence regarding safety. They also pointed to the recent housing crisis as a consequence of inadequate housing supply during Oh's time in office. In response to Oh's campaign statement urging voters to preserve Seoul as a final bastion of government checks and balances, Jung's team accused him of cowardice, saying, "It shows a willingness to save only himself even if his fellow opposition candidates fail." They labeled Oh as a "tax-eating hippo," citing the city's plan to cover a 13.5 billion won deficit for the Han River Bus operation with taxpayer money over two years. Jung's camp questioned whether taxpayer funds should be used to support Oh's stubbornness and wartime administration. During a campaign event in Yeouido, Jung urged voters to replace the "incompetent and irresponsible" Oh Se-hoon and establish new leadership. He appealed for votes to create a safer, more convenient, and happier Seoul. Oh, in a press conference held in front of Hyochang Park, criticized Jung as an unqualified candidate. He stated that only by creating a platform for self-verification can one be deemed fit to lead Seoul, directly addressing Jung's refusal to participate in a one-on-one debate. Oh also criticized Jung for failing to provide clear explanations regarding allegations of favoritism in the Jupok and Haengdang-dong Baby Goods Store and hiring irregularities related to Cancun trips. He remarked, "Labeling unfavorable media coverage or comments from opponents as negative campaigning shows a fear of self-verification." Oh asserted that Jung is unprepared to take responsibility for a city that the world wants to visit and that citizens admire for its lifestyle. He emphasized, "We cannot turn Seoul into a practice course for a novice driver," intensifying his criticism by declaring Jung unqualified and unprepared.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-06-02 16:45:00

KOSPI ekes out gains as rally extends beyond tech giants SEOUL, June 2 (AJP) - South Korea's benchmark KOSPI edged to another record close on Tuesday, finishing slightly higher in a session whose flat headline masked one of the most dramatic shifts of the year. The index closed at around 8,799 points, up 0.1 percent, after having fallen more than 1 percent around midday on oil-price nerves before clawing the entire loss back by the close. Beneath the surface, the top performers that had defined the rally for months gave way. Money rushed out of the semiconductor giants that carried Monday's record, with SK hynix and Samsung Electro-Mechanics both falling, and into three very different destinations: the companies expected to meet Nvidia's visiting chief executive, the robotics names riding the same theme, and a startling rotation into South Korea's long-discounted financials. The biggest of those was a genuine surprise. Samsung Life Insurance soared nearly 15 percent to around 471,000 won (US$311.9), leading the single best-performing sector on the day, as some investors began to look past the crowded AI trade toward value names that have lagged most of the year. The robotics and telecom moves, by contrast, ran on what local investors are calling the "Jensen Huang effect": with Nvidia's chief executive due in Korea this week after appearances at Computex and GTC Taipei, SK Telecom surged more than 12 percent to around 126,000 won on hopes tied to sovereign AI infrastructure, while Doosan Robotics jumped more than 20 percent to around 167,000 won, with Huang expected to meet Doosan's chairman and to throw the ceremonial first pitch at a Doosan Bears baseball game. China's Shanghai Composite was the region's quiet outperformer, rising about a third of a percent to around 4,070, a clear break from its recent habit of trailing Seoul and Tokyo. The driver was structural: the Shanghai Stock Exchange has raised the weightings of technology and chipmaking stocks in its key indexes this month, a change Goldman Sachs estimates could draw in roughly 3 billion dollars of fresh inflows. That lit a fire under China's chip-sovereignty names. Cambricon, often described as China's answer to Nvidia, jumped more than 5 percent to around 1,300 yuan, while SMIC, the country's largest foundry, edged up to around 133 yuan. CNOOC rose nearly 1 percent to around 35 yuan as oil held firm. Japan's Nikkei 225 was the region's only decliner, slipping about a third of a percent to around 66,734, though the headline masked an important detail: the AI trade did not unwind. SoftBank Group, after Monday's historic surge that made it Japan's most valuable listed company, held its ground and edged up about half a percent to around 8,592 yen, while Advantest, the chip-testing equipment maker, rose more than 2 percent to around 26,200 yen. What dragged the index lower was the old economy, as Toyota Motor fell about 2 percent to around 2,846 yen, extending Monday's decline as investors kept rotating out of the traditional exporters. The day's pattern across the region pointed to an AI trade that is broadening rather than breaking. In Korea it spread out from memory chips into robotics, telecom, and even life insurers; in China it rotated into domestic chipmakers on an index reshuffle; in Japan it held firm even as the broader index dipped. Whether that breadth holds or the money rushes back into the chip leaders is likely to turn on two events now in view, Huang's Seoul visit this week and China's Politburo meeting in July, either of which could set the region's next direction. 2026-06-02 16:44:35

Shin's BOK signals active central bank intervention, putting monetary tightening and CBDC in spotlight SEOUL, June 02 (AJP) - The Bank of Korea (BOK) International Conference themed "Central Banks and the Future of Money," which ran from Monday to Tuesday, served as less of a purely academic event and more of a debut public stage highlighting the long-term vision of BOK Governor Shin Hyun-song. The central bank positioned staunch advocates of price and financial stability at the forefront while pitching a future monetary order centered around central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) as its core agenda. Since Governor Shin took office, the BOK’s strategic policy color has crystallized into three pillars: a hawkish monetary policy stance that dampens expectations for premature interest rate cuts; a macrofinancial stability framework that elevates financial vulnerability into a core variable for monetary policy decisions; and institutional restructuring aimed at redesigning the central bank’s payment and settlement infrastructure through CBDCs and tokenized deposits to fit the evolving digital economy. The lineup of participants at this year's conference directly mirrored these institutional priorities. Keynote speaker Isabel Schnabel, an Executive Board member of the European Central Bank (ECB), is recognized as a prominent inflation hawk in Europe. Neel Kashkari, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, is also a figure who has consistently championed price stability and a highly cautious approach to rate cuts. Tobias Adrian, financial counsellor of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), addressed the critical linkages between financial vulnerability and monetary policy, while Princeton University Professor Markus Brunnermeier presented the policy dilemmas that digital currency creates among payments, credit, and privacy. Ultimately, the event merged a hawkish central banking philosophy emphasizing price and financial stability with a public payment infrastructure theory centered on CBDCs. This aligns closely with Governor Shin’s core philosophy, developed during his tenure at the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). Shin has long maintained a macrofinancial perspective, arguing that monetary policy should not be viewed merely as adjustments to the benchmark interest rate, but rather as an interplay where institutional leverage, asset prices, exchange rates, payment infrastructures, and global liquidity flows can collectively disrupt economic stability. It is hardly a coincidence that Adrian's paper on financial vulnerability—which posits that while easing financial conditions may support the economy in the short term, it exacerbates leverage and risk-taking over time, fueling deeper recession risks—was placed in the very first general session. This reflects Shin’s recent warnings against a simultaneous buildup in household debt, real estate, equity leverage, and lopsided foreign exchange movements. The message is clear: the era when monetary policy focused solely on inflation and growth is over; financial vulnerability must now be factored in. The CBDC discussions follow a similar logic. Participants, including Governor Shin, stressed that as stablecoins and big tech payment networks proliferate, central banks can no longer remain institutions that merely manage physical cash and bank reserves. If private digital currencies capture payment grids, the transmission channels of monetary policy, the commercial bank deposit base, and the broader financial stability architecture could all be destabilized. This concern was echoed by Executive Board Member Schnabel, who drew parallels between stablecoins and Money Market Funds (MMFs) to warn against financial stability risks. "Central banks cannot remain passive observers of these developments," Schnabel said. "The appropriate response is therefore not to resist innovation but to ensure that it develops within a framework that preserves stability, monetary control and trust in the currency." Professor Robert Townsend’s evaluation of this approach as a benchmark case study for central bank digital currency innovation underscores that the BOK under Shin aims to act as an architect, rather than a passive observer, of global payment debates. There were voices of caution, such as Professor Brunnermeier, who emphasized that CBDC is not simply a "nice-to-have technology." He highlighted a "triple dilemma" where boosting payment efficiency could weaken credit supply; strengthening credit supply could erode privacy; and enhancing privacy could hinder transaction tracking and loan enforcement, thereby impairing financial intermediation. Environmental shifts notwithstanding, the BOK continues its aggressive experiments with CBDCs, tokenized deposits, and cross-border payment infrastructures through Project Hangang and Project Agora. Initiated under former Governor Rhee Chang-yong, Phase 1 of the Bank of Korea’s flagship digital currency pilot, Project Hangang, ran from October 2023 to August 2025 to test the real-world viability of wholesale CBDCs and commercial bank deposit tokens. Phase 2, launched in March 2026, expands this scope to peer-to-peer transfers and programmable features, aiming to establish a next-generation public settlement infrastructure that integrates deposit tokens, government treasury execution, and private digital asset transactions. Such blueprints, however, will inevitably clash head-on with ongoing legislative debates over stablecoins. Once private stablecoins enter institutional frameworks, the central bank will need to re-demarcate the roles assigned to commercial bank deposit tokens and its own central-bank-led digital currency infrastructure. Ultimately, the trajectory of the BOK under the Shin administration points toward a "central-bank-led monetary order." It sends a dual signal: the central bank will design public infrastructure and regulatory frameworks ahead of the private sector, while refusing to ease its tight monetary stance until both inflation and financial vulnerabilities are firmly brought under control. Market participants who previously focused solely on interest rate decisions must now navigate a new landscape, tracking how the BOK scales its CBDC pilots, which public and private settlement networks it connects to deposit tokens, and what regulatory principles it establishes for private digital currencies. 2026-06-02 16:37:43

Samsung Electronics Surpasses Bitcoin in Market Capitalization Bitcoin, once a symbol of global investment fervor, has fallen behind Samsung Electronics in market capitalization rankings. Analysts suggest that as the AI semiconductor supercycle gains momentum, global funds are shifting towards semiconductor companies rather than virtual assets. According to global market capitalization tracking site CompaniesMarketCap, Samsung Electronics recently reached a market cap of approximately $1.5 trillion, surpassing Bitcoin, which now ranks 14th. Just over a year ago, Bitcoin's market cap approached $2 trillion, buoyed by the anticipation of the U.S. spot ETF launch and increased global liquidity. However, recent trends indicate that investor interest is shifting towards AI semiconductors and the data center industry, resulting in a change in funding flows. The surge in Samsung's performance is largely attributed to increased investment in AI infrastructure. Major global tech companies are competing to build AI data centers, leading to a surge in demand for AI semiconductors, including high-bandwidth memory (HBM). Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron are currently at the center of the memory market, which is crucial in the AI era. Samsung has recently entered the era of a 1 quadrillion won market cap, driven by expectations for expanded supply of next-generation HBM products, and is being reevaluated as a beneficiary of the AI semiconductor boom. Optimists believe that AI infrastructure investment is still in its early stages, with both Samsung and SK Hynix focusing on expanding AI memory production, suggesting that the semiconductor boom may last longer than expected. Conversely, cautious analysts point out that the pace of stock price increases for semiconductor companies is outpacing actual earnings growth. They warn that if enthusiasm for AI investment wanes or data center investment plans are scaled back, semiconductor stocks could also face corrections. They caution that funding is becoming overly concentrated in specific industries, reminiscent of the dot-com bubble era. Ultimately, the competition in market capitalization between Samsung Electronics and Bitcoin can be interpreted as a contest over where greater value is assigned: the future of the AI industry or the future of digital assets. Currently, the market favors AI, but Bitcoin could rebound due to the expansion of the U.S. ETF market, inflows from institutional investors, and changes in global monetary policy.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-06-02 16:33:00

Demand for Housing Shifts from Seoul to Gyeonggi and Incheon as 30-Somethings Lead Market In the Gyeonggi housing market, buyers in their 30s have emerged as the most active group. Factors such as high housing prices in Seoul, lending restrictions, and a shortage of rental properties have led to increased demand for housing in areas adjacent to the capital. Analysis of data from the National Statistical Portal on June 2 revealed that the number of apartment purchases by Seoul residents in other regions reached 3,480 in March. This marks an increase from 2,855 in January and 3,032 in February, showing a consistent upward trend over three months. A significant portion of this so-called "Seoul-exit" demand has shifted towards Gyeonggi and Incheon, which accounted for 84.3% of purchases by Seoul residents in March. In March, purchases of apartments in Gyeonggi by Seoul residents totaled 2,637, a 26.3% increase from the previous month. Incheon saw 298 purchases, up 35.5% during the same period. Overall, apartment purchases in the metropolitan area (Gyeonggi and Incheon) by Seoul residents reached 2,935, a 27.2% rise from the previous month. Seoul residents have notably increased their presence in border cities. In March, Gwangmyeong recorded 349 total apartment transactions, with 148 (42.4%) attributed to purchases by Seoul residents. Similarly, over one-third of buyers in Hanam (37.6%) and Guri (37.3%) were also from Seoul. In absolute numbers, Goyang led with 269 transactions, followed by Namyangju with 247, Yongin with 193, Anyang with 176, and Guri with 174. Areas with anticipated improvements in transportation, such as the GTX line and subway extensions, are seeing concentrated demand. In Incheon, the influx of Seoul residents has also risen. In March, purchases of apartments by Seoul residents in Incheon reached 298, a 35.5% increase from the previous month. The highest number of transactions occurred in Seo-gu with 104, followed by Bupyeong-gu with 77, both showing relatively high proportions of Seoul residents at 13.4% and 13.0%, respectively. As of March, the share of apartment purchases by Seoul residents in non-metropolitan areas remained low at 15.7%, indicating that most demand is concentrated in the metropolitan area. In terms of regions, purchases were recorded at 96 in Gangwon, 93 in South Chungcheong, and 55 in North Chungcheong. Additionally, buyers in their 30s are the most active segment in the Gyeonggi housing market. In March, 6,060 of the 16,895 apartment transactions in Gyeonggi were made by this age group, accounting for 35.9% of the total. This figure is 12.7 percentage points higher than the 40-somethings at 23.2%, and exceeds the national average of 31.6% and Incheon’s 30.8%. The scale of transactions in Gyeonggi also significantly surpasses that of Seoul. During the same period, 2,794 apartment purchases by 30-somethings in Seoul were recorded, only half of Gyeonggi's total. While the proportion of 30-something buyers in Seoul was higher at 43.4%, the actual number of transactions in Gyeonggi was approximately 2.2 times greater. Kim In-man, head of Kim In-man Real Estate Economic Research Institute, stated, "Due to the rental crisis and high housing prices in Seoul, young couples and other actual buyers in their 30s are turning their attention to the outskirts of Seoul or the Gyeonggi area. With the burden of living costs and improvements in transportation conditions, it is likely that the buying trend in Gyeonggi will continue for the foreseeable future."* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-06-02 16:33:00

Delisting Risks Rise for KOSDAQ Companies Amid Stricter Regulations The struggle to avoid delisting is not limited to penny stocks. Numerous companies on the KOSDAQ market face risks of delisting due to violations of disclosure regulations, rejected audit opinions, and capital erosion. The traditional method of temporarily boosting stock prices to evade crises is becoming increasingly difficult as financial authorities tighten monitoring and delisting criteria. According to the Korea Exchange, starting in the second half of this year, the monitoring system for management-designated stocks will be strengthened. Previously, companies designated as management stocks could avoid delisting if they met market capitalization criteria (200 billion won this half-year and 300 billion won next year) for 10 consecutive trading days or a cumulative total of 30 trading days within 90 trading days. However, under the new rules, companies must meet the market capitalization criteria for 45 consecutive trading days to avoid delisting. This means that even temporary stock price increases due to favorable news could still lead to delisting risks. For instance, ABPROBIO, a KOSDAQ-listed company, was designated as a management stock in March due to a capital erosion rate of 61.8%. In response, the company has initiated measures to bolster its capital, including a 90% capital reduction, a rights offering, and the issuance of convertible bonds. Despite these efforts, its stock price fluctuates around 1,000 won, keeping its market capitalization at approximately 32 billion won. If the company's value deteriorates further, maintaining its listing could become increasingly challenging. Similarly, companies like DAP and Iwon CompoTech have been newly designated as management stocks this year due to capital erosion rates exceeding 50%. Iwon CompoTech's stock price is currently at 1,552 won, with a market capitalization of 12.4 billion won, raising concerns about its ability to meet the strengthened market capitalization criteria. DAP's stock price and market capitalization stand at 1,883 won and 41.7 billion won, respectively, which meet this year's listing maintenance requirements, but the increase to 300 billion won next year leaves little room for error. As the criteria for delisting-related penalties have been tightened, the company with the highest accumulated penalty points is Coas, with 42 points. Coas was designated as an unreliable disclosure company after being found to have delayed disclosures or provided inaccurate information during the acquisition of stocks from Iwha Electric, Etron, and EID last October. If it receives additional penalty points, it could be subject to delisting review. DawanSys follows closely behind with 23 accumulated penalty points. The company is currently suspended from trading due to a delisting cause stemming from a rejected audit opinion on its financial statements last year. Its revenue dropped by over 70% compared to the previous year, and its operating losses exceeded 100 billion won. Additionally, the termination of a contract for supplying electric trains to Korail has heightened concerns about its operational normalization. Even if issues related to audit opinions are resolved in the future, the burden of accumulated penalty points remains a concern. Industry experts believe that the recent reforms to the delisting system will not only introduce new criteria but also mark the beginning of a serious effort to address struggling companies. Lee Geon-jae, a researcher at IBK Investment & Securities, stated, "While more than 90 companies are newly listed on the KOSDAQ market each year, the number of companies being delisted is less than half. We need to address the structural issues of unprofitable companies that have not resolved problems such as poor business performance, lack of communication with investors, and capital erosion to achieve qualitative improvement in the KOSDAQ market."* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-06-02 16:27:00

Trump says deal with Iran may be reached 'over the next week' SEOUL, June 2 (AJP) - U.S. President Donald Trump again said that Washington and Tehran are moving closer to a deal that could extend a ceasefire and ease tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, raising hopes for a possible end to the prolonged conflict in the Middle East, which began in late February. In a phone interview with ABC News on Monday, Trump said a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Iran could be reached "over the next week," calling ongoing talks "looking good." The proposed deal would lay the groundwork for extending the ceasefire while keeping the strait open to shipping, as both sides continue negotiations over Iran's nuclear program and regional security. Trump said there had been "a little glitch" in the negotiations, although he admitted difficulties. "It's not a simple thing," he said. "So it's not an easy thing for them. It's actually not easy from our standpoint either. But we're getting what we need to get." But it still remains to be seen, as this is not the first time Trump has made similar remarks, and several key issues remain unresolved. Adding to the uncertainty, Iran said earlier in the day that it had suspended communications with the U.S. over Israel's military actions in Lebanon. 2026-06-02 16:26:04

Candidate Unification Fails in Key Elections in Pyeongtaek and Busan 6.3 by-elections in Pyeongtaek and Busan North Gap are heating up as candidate unification efforts have effectively collapsed, leading to heightened tensions among the candidates. Initially, there was speculation about a possible unification of progressive and conservative candidates, but escalating power struggles have deepened divisions.According to political sources on June 2, the conflict in Pyeongtaek has escalated into a partisan battle. Jo Guk of the Jo Guk Innovation Party has launched a concentrated attack on Kim Yong-nam of the Democratic Party over allegations of operating a loan shark business, prompting a negative campaign between the Democratic Party and the Innovation Party. As the Innovation Party pressured Kim to reconsider his candidacy, the Democratic Party labeled Jo as a 'fake Democratic candidate,' intensifying their counterattacks.On the eve of the election, Democratic Party Secretary-General Jo Seung-rae stated, "The Democratic candidate for Pyeongtaek is Kim Yong-nam, not Jo Guk," asserting that while it may appear to be a two-horse race, the People Power Party candidate's support is rising, increasing the likelihood of a three-way contest. He previously questioned Jo's legitimacy, asking, "Why is the Innovation Party candidate running under the guise of the Democratic Party?" Jo countered, saying, "Can't you hear the voices across the country of forces conspiring against the Democratic progressive camp?"Meanwhile, Yoo Ui-dong of the People Power Party left the door open for unification with Hwang Kyo-ahn of the Liberty and Innovation Party. In an emergency press conference, Yoo urged Hwang to unify, stating, "We cannot let our small differences allow the candidates of privilege and unfairness to take Pyeongtaek." He added, "Public sentiment is already leaning towards me. A decisive victory is possible even in a five-candidate race, but if we unite, a more certain and overwhelming victory is guaranteed. Let’s set aside our minor differences and work together on the larger path." However, Hwang's conditions for unification, which include an apology regarding former President Park Geun-hye and a change in stance on election fraud, have led to skepticism about the feasibility of such an alliance.In Busan North Gap, the three candidates are also engaged in mutual attacks. Democratic candidate Ha Jung-woo took to Facebook to target independent candidate Han Dong-hoon, stating, "I am not a powerful special prosecutor or a media-favored presidential contender. I lack flashy rhetoric and enthusiastic fandom. However, what I possess is a strong will and desire to work for Buk-gu." He emphasized, "I have no ambition to become president or rebuild conservatism; my only responsibility and mission is to work for Buk-gu."In contrast, Han responded to allegations of 'collective false residency' raised by the Democratic Party, calling them "absurd claims that are the opposite of the reality in Buk-gu," and hinted at legal action. The Democratic Party's Busan chapter had previously reported that Han and his supporters were attempting organized and collective false residency in Buk-gu and called for a thorough investigation by the election commission.Han pointed to monthly population statistics released by the Buk-gu office, showing a decline in population in April and May, arguing, "If there were organized false residencies, how could the population continue to decrease? The desperation of the Democratic Party and Ha's camp, facing imminent defeat, is clearly revealed through their false smear tactics. I will hold them accountable without exception for their mudslinging tactics that turn the election into a quagmire."Meanwhile, Park Min-sik of the People Power Party intensified his attacks on Han, stating, "Please judge the other independent candidate who sees Buk-gu as just a stop on the way to division among conservatives with your vote." Kim Seong-geun, an independent candidate in the Busan North Gap by-election, announced his withdrawal from the race and declared his support for Park a day before the election. Park described Kim's endorsement as a judgment and warning against forces that attempted to distort public sentiment through dubious opinion polls, asserting, "There is a rising anger among true Buk-gu residents to eradicate fake transient politics and opportunistic politics."* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-06-02 16:24:00

SpaceX IPO Approaches as $1 Billion Flows into Space-Themed ETFs As the initial public offering (IPO) of U.S. space exploration company SpaceX approaches, significant investments are flowing into domestic space-themed exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Over the past week, more than 1 trillion won (approximately $1 billion) has been invested in these space-themed ETFs in South Korea. According to Koscom ETF Check on June 2, the TIGER U.S. Space Tech ETF saw a net inflow of 1.2725 trillion won, ranking second among all ETFs for fund inflows. Notably, on the previous day alone, 255.5 billion won was invested, demonstrating strong interest from investors. Individual investors were particularly active, with net purchases of 972.8 billion won, placing this ETF fourth among all ETFs during the same period. Other space industry ETFs also attracted significant funds. The KODEX U.S. Aerospace ETF received 169.9 billion won, ranking eighth in inflows, while the SOL U.S. Aerospace TOP10 saw an inflow of 36 billion won. With domestic investors unable to directly participate in the IPO, the growing demand for indirect investments through ETFs is evident. The surge in fund inflows is linked to SpaceX's upcoming investor roadshow starting June 4. The company is expected to clarify its funding size and final offering price, with plans to list on the Nasdaq as early as June 12. Market evaluations place the company's value between $1.75 trillion and $2 trillion, with the offering size estimated around $800 million, potentially setting a record for the largest IPO ever, surpassing the previous record held by Saudi Aramco at $29.4 billion. Attention is also focused on how this IPO might absorb investments in AI-related companies. Given the scale of the IPO, there are concerns that global institutional investors may liquidate some of their growth stocks to participate in the offering. Kim Il-hyuk, a researcher at KB Securities, noted, "Several companies in the same sector are likely to face supply shocks due to SpaceX's entry into the market." However, some analysts caution against interpreting this as a negative signal for the semiconductor industry as a whole. Due to the nature of SpaceX's business model, it could actually expand the demand base for the semiconductor ecosystem in the long term. Kim added, "SpaceX is expected to continue its focus on AI infrastructure investments, which may benefit semiconductor, equipment, and power infrastructure companies."* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-06-02 16:24:00

July Marks Critical Month for KOSDAQ as Delisting Risks Rise for 200 Companies The critical month of July is approaching, bringing with it a strengthened delisting system for KOSDAQ companies. Starting July 1, the new regulations will intensify efforts to weed out underperforming firms. Currently, over 200 companies are at risk of delisting due to factors such as insufficient market capitalization, penny stock status, and repeated disclosure violations. According to financial authorities, the enhanced delisting criteria will take effect on July 1. Companies with a market capitalization below 20 billion won, stocks priced under 1,000 won, or those accumulating 10 or more penalty points for disclosure violations (down from the previous threshold of 15 points) will be targeted for delisting. As of July 1, among the 1,822 KOSDAQ-listed companies (excluding SPACs), 134 have a market capitalization below 20 billion won, and 109 are classified as penny stocks. After excluding duplicates, approximately 203 companies are expected to fall into the potential delisting category. In addition to market capitalization criteria, many companies are also facing challenges due to disclosure violations. Currently, 70 KOSDAQ companies have been penalized under exchange management standards, with 16 of them accumulating 10 or more penalty points. The company with the highest penalty points is Coas, with a total of 42 points, followed by Daewon Sys with 23 points, CCS with 22.5 points, and Korea Union Pharma with over 21 points. Concerns about financial stability are also rising, as three KOSDAQ companies have been newly designated as management issues this year due to capital impairment rates exceeding 50%: AB Pro Bio, Iwon Compo Tech, and DAP. Market analysts predict that if delistings begin in July, the impact on retail shareholders could be significant. As of the end of last year, there were approximately 2.63 million retail investors holding shares in companies with a market capitalization below 20 billion won and classified as penny stocks. Some of these companies have thousands of individual investors, raising concerns that many will suffer losses if delistings occur. A securities industry representative stated, "The authorities aim to eliminate companies that have only maintained their listings while increasing investor losses." However, given the high proportion of retail investors in the KOSDAQ market, it is essential to establish protective measures for minority shareholders during the delisting process.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-06-02 16:21:00