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Korea's middle-aged dads find an unlikely superhero in 'Agent Kim' SEOUL, July 27 (AJP) - As South Korean companies quietly push employees toward early retirement, millions of middle-aged office workers have found an unlikely superhero in a timid bank manager who secretly used to be one of the country's deadliest intelligence operatives. The latest hit K-drama "Agent Kim Reactivated," known in Korean as Kim Bu-jang, wrapped up its 10-episode run Sunday after becoming one of the year's biggest television successes. But its strongest following may have come not from young streaming audiences but from men in their 40s who saw something of themselves behind the show's punches and gunfights. Kim Hyun-soo, a 47-year-old office worker in Seongnam, never missed an episode. His company has been encouraging voluntary retirement, and several colleagues of similar age have already accepted the offer as employers quietly trim payrolls despite an economy buoyed by booming semiconductor exports and record stock prices. Lying awake at night, Kim often wonders when his turn will come. The drama gave him something reality could not. "I felt a sense of release," he said. Premiering to a nationwide audience rating of 9.5 percent — the strongest opening for a South Korean miniseries this year — the show finished with ratings exceeding 23 percent, according to Nielsen Korea. It also topped Netflix's global non-English television rankings for two consecutive weeks, drawing 10.5 million views during the week of June 29 and another 9.1 million the following week. Its appeal stretched well beyond one demographic. But for Kim and another office worker interviewed by AJP, the series became more than entertainment. It became wish fulfillment. Manager Kim, the show's protagonist, works in the accounting department of a small savings bank. He is a widowed father raising his daughter alone, quietly absorbing insults from colleagues while avoiding confrontation. Unknown to everyone around him, however, he and his two closest friends are former intelligence operatives who once carried out dangerous covert missions. When his daughter disappears, the three middle-aged men return to a world they thought they had left behind. The premise is simple but emotionally powerful. The ordinary "ajeossi" — a Korean term for middle-aged men often associated with being unfashionable, invisible or past their prime — turns out to be the most capable person in the room. Park Seong-min, a 42-year-old office worker in Gwacheon, found himself drawn to precisely that contrast. "The three characters don't even have impressive jobs," he said. "By some standards, they're losers." Yet he binge-watched the series almost without noticing the time. The action reminded him of the John Wick films, but the Korean setting and middle-aged protagonists made the story feel closer to home. "Since it's a Korean drama, there were parts I related to much more," he said. Unlike many Korean dramas, its heroes are neither wealthy heirs nor gifted young professionals. They wear office shirts instead of designer suits. They worry about mortgages and children instead of corporate takeovers. Society has already decided they are ordinary. The action begins when that assumption proves spectacularly wrong. For viewers like Kim, the fantasy is not simply that middle-aged fathers can still fight. It is that becoming ordinary in the eyes of society does not mean becoming powerless. That anxiety extends far beyond television. South Korea's banking industry has increasingly offered voluntary-retirement packages to employees well below the statutory retirement age of 60. Voluntary retirements at the country's five largest commercial banks rose 24 percent in 2025 to 2,470 employees, the highest level since comparable disclosures began in 2021, according to reports filed with the Korea Federation of Banks. Eligibility has also crept steadily downward. Shinhan Bank included employees born as late as 1986 in one retirement program, while Hana Bank opened another to general employees aged 40 or older with at least 15 years of service. The programs remain voluntary and often include generous compensation. Still, for workers like Kim, seeing retirement packages offered to people barely into middle age reinforces an uncomfortable reality: careers once expected to last until 60 may end much earlier. Many people in their 40s also belong to South Korea's so-called sandwich generation, supporting aging parents while still raising children of their own. Park, however, is reluctant to portray his generation as uniquely burdened. He also helps support his parents. "I don't think people in their 40s necessarily have it harder," he said. "Everyone believes their own situation is the hardest." His answer complicates the familiar narrative. Not every middle-aged Korean man feels defeated. Some fear restructuring. Others simply accept uncertainty as another part of working life. "You just quietly get through each day," Park said. Perhaps that is why Agent Kim Reactivated resonated so deeply. Its greatest fantasy was never that an ordinary office worker could defeat heavily armed criminals. It was that the quiet, overlooked middle-aged man whom society had already dismissed still possessed extraordinary value. For one hour each week, Kim and Park could imagine themselves not as employees worrying about restructuring or fathers wondering whether they had already reached their peak, but as men whose years of quiet endurance concealed exceptional strength. When the credits rolled, Monday morning returned. The restructuring notices remained. Retirement still seemed closer than either expected. The responsibilities of work and family had not changed. But for a brief moment, neither had to believe that becoming older meant becoming less important. There is a little of Agent Kim in millions of Korean fathers — men who quietly shoulder mortgages, aging parents and children while wondering whether their own best years have already passed. The show's greatest achievement may not have been creating another action hero. It was reminding a generation of overlooked men that their story does not have to end at middle age. 2026-07-27 17:43:02 -
ChabioTech Selected for Ministry of Science's AX One-Stop Voucher Program ChabioTech has been selected for the Ministry of Science and ICT's 'AX (AI Transformation) One-Stop Voucher' support program. The company plans to implement a generative artificial intelligence (AI)-based manufacturing and quality control (CMC) regulatory document automation system to enhance the efficiency of cell therapy development and regulatory processes.On July 27, ChabioTech announced that it is forming a consortium with Naver Cloud, Persona AI, and MediAI Plus to develop a software-as-a-service (AI-SaaS) platform aimed at accelerating the commercialization of generative AI-based cell therapies. The project will receive 2.6 billion won in government funding.The AX One-Stop Voucher program aims to promote AI transformation among domestic companies by providing integrated support for AI solutions, cloud services, and data utilization in the form of vouchers.In this initiative, Naver Cloud will provide high-performance cloud infrastructure, while Persona AI will be responsible for developing AI solutions and building the SaaS platform. MediAI Plus will handle data structuring and quality verification. The consortium aims to address delays in document and data processing throughout the entire cycle of cell therapy research and development.CMC documents are critical regulatory documents that demonstrate the consistency, safety, reproducibility, and clinical applicability of a product during the cell therapy development process. Compiling and drafting these documents requires extensive time and manpower, as it involves integrating information from various departments, including manufacturing, quality, clinical, and non-clinical.The AI-based application software being developed through this project will automate the creation and verification of CMC regulatory documents. This is expected to improve the efficiency of document searching, drafting, and review processes, enhance the quality of regulatory responses, secure competitiveness in global regulatory compliance, and shorten the timelines for new drug development and approvals.ChabioTech plans to establish an integrated process that encompasses search, analysis, generation, and verification using four key validation agents and AI operations technology (AI Ops) to automatically perform document tasks and review procedures on behalf of users.Yoon Seok-hwan, Executive Director of ChabioTech's AI team, stated, "We plan to structure dispersed document data to create an automated system that generates regulatory document drafts and conducts verification. We aim to demonstrate AI transformation in the regulatory document area, which requires high precision, such as in cell therapy CMC, and create a case that accelerates the spread of AX across the entire bio industry."Meanwhile, ChabioTech is engaged in the research and development of cell and gene therapies (CGT) targeting intractable diseases such as cancer and rare diseases.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-07-27 17:36:00 -
Lee Jae-yong and Choi Tae-won Gather at Google Camp in Italy, Boosting Big Tech AI Alliance Lee Jae-yong, chairman of Samsung Electronics, and Choi Tae-won, chairman of SK Group, are expanding their global presence from the United States to Sicily, Italy. According to industry sources on July 27, the two leaders are set to attend the exclusive tech CEO gathering known as 'Google Camp' at the Rocco Forte Verdura Resort in Sicily at the end of this month. This annual event, hosted by Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, brings together global information technology (IT) leaders for private networking opportunities. Lee has been a consistent attendee since the event's inception, while Choi is making his debut this year after missing last year's gathering due to the impact of U.S.-Korea tariff negotiations. Their participation this year signals a renewed effort to strengthen their global tech networks. At the meeting, the two executives are expected to foster relationships with global IT leaders, including those from Google, while sharing insights on the latest technological trends and business challenges, potentially creating new collaboration opportunities. This visit follows the 'AI Summit' held in San Francisco on July 24, where Samsung Electronics and SK Group signed agreements worth $950 billion for memory and AI data centers with companies like NVIDIA and Broadcom. With the demand for AI semiconductors surging, the two leaders are anticipated to discuss expanding high-bandwidth memory (HBM) supply and establishing a global semiconductor cooperation framework with major tech executives. NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang has previously emphasized the importance of South Korean memory companies, stating, "Without the HBM innovations from Korean memory firms, the current AI capabilities would not be possible."* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-07-27 17:36:00
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Pepper Savings Bank's Major Shareholder Changes to Domestic Entity Pepper Savings Bank has changed its major shareholder from a UK entity to a domestic one. Pepper Group has restructured its governance system to manage its Korean operations through a domestic intermediate holding company.According to the savings bank industry on July 28, Pepper Savings Bank's major shareholder has recently changed from Pepper Europe to Pepper Korea Holdings. Pepper Europe transferred its 6,344,000 shares of Pepper Savings Bank to Pepper Korea Holdings, resulting in a 100% ownership stake.Pepper Savings Bank explained the change in major shareholders as part of a "group-level governance restructuring." Previously, the top governing company, KKR, and the intermediate holding company, Pepper Global, directly controlled Pepper Savings Bank through the UK-based Pepper Europe. With this change, the domestic entity, Pepper Korea Holdings, now directly holds shares in Pepper Savings Bank.Pepper Korea Holdings was already classified as a related party of Pepper Savings Bank. This change does not involve external investors or a significant change in controlling shareholders. Instead, it shifts the ownership of Pepper Savings Bank shares from an overseas entity to a domestic one.As a result, it is likely that Pepper Group's domestic operations will be managed primarily through Pepper Korea Holdings. This structure allows for a concentration of capital management, cost control, and organizational restructuring related to Korean operations within the domestic entity.Meanwhile, Pepper Savings Bank has recently initiated a voluntary retirement program for about 100 employees.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-07-27 17:36:00
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Government Accelerates National Agricultural AI Platform Development, Selects Consortium The government has finalized its private partner to lead a large-scale national agricultural artificial intelligence (AI) transformation project. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced on July 27 that it has selected the 'Jeonnam Gwangju Integrated Special City Consortium' as the private participant in the national agricultural AI platform project and has signed an implementation agreement. The selected consortium includes companies such as Daedong, Daedong AgriTech, LG CNS, Art Farm Agricultural Cooperative, and Daeyoung GS, along with local governments including Jeonnam Gwangju Integrated Special City and Muan County, totaling seven entities. The Ministry had conducted a public recruitment for private participants from February to April, and after expert evaluations, the Jeonnam Gwangju Integrated Special City Consortium was selected as the preferred negotiation partner in April. Following detailed discussions on specific implementation plans, the final contract was signed today. The Ministry and the consortium plan to establish a special purpose corporation (SPC) through public-private joint investment by the end of this year and to commence the national agricultural AI platform project in earnest. The SPC aims to create an environment where anyone can easily and professionally manage agriculture using AI, focusing on developing AI farming models and solutions, establishing AI greenhouses, and providing agricultural services using advanced machinery. This initiative seeks to widely disseminate AI services tailored to the scale and technological level of farms while also establishing a leading model for K-AI smart farms to pave the way for entry into overseas markets. Lee Si-hye, Director of Agricultural Industry Innovation Policy at the Ministry, stated, "We will lay the groundwork for farmers to utilize AI more easily through the national agricultural AI platform," emphasizing, "We will make every effort to promote the spread of AI in agriculture and establish a leading model for K-AI smart farms based on public-private cooperation."* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-07-27 17:32:00
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EcoPro HN to Supply $27.5 Million RCS to Samsung E&A EcoPro HN will supply a centralized greenhouse gas reduction system (RCS) to Samsung E&A. The contract is valued at 33 billion won, and the equipment will be implemented at domestic semiconductor companies.On July 27, EcoPro HN announced through a public disclosure that it has signed a contract with Samsung E&A for the supply of RCS. The Regenerative Catalytic System (RCS) is a large-scale greenhouse gas reduction system designed to process perfluorocarbons (PFCs) generated during semiconductor manufacturing.PFCs have a global warming potential (GWP) thousands to tens of thousands of times greater than CO2, making them a critical environmental issue that must be addressed in semiconductor production.EcoPro HN is recognized for its technological expertise in the RCS field, based on its catalyst-based greenhouse gas reduction technology. While traditional thermal decomposition systems require ultra-high temperature processes of 1,300 to 1,400 degrees Celsius for greenhouse gas reduction, EcoPro HN's RCS can decompose greenhouse gases at approximately 750 to 800 degrees Celsius, resulting in about a 95% reduction in energy consumption.In line with the trend of domestic semiconductor companies expanding their global production bases, EcoPro HN plans to diversify its customer base to include overseas semiconductor firms, particularly in North America.An EcoPro HN official stated, "This order reaffirms our unique greenhouse gas reduction technology and the reliability of our equipment. We will continue to diversify our customer base in both the domestic and global semiconductor markets based on differentiated technology."Meanwhile, EcoPro HN is the only eco-friendly total solution company in South Korea engaged in air pollution prevention, greenhouse gas reduction, and materials for secondary batteries and semiconductors. It was established in 2021 following a spin-off from EcoPro's environmental division, which began in 1998.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-07-27 17:32:00
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Han Seong-sook: 'I Will Address Unjust Victims and Regulatory Hurdles' as Calls for Housing Ladder Restoration Rise Young people, pre-application winners, and the housing supply industry are urging the government to restore the housing ladder that leads to homeownership and unblock supply routes. They called for clarity on pre-application loan conditions and the removal of bottlenecks in the approval and financing stages. The government responded by committing to fulfill existing promises and to specifically address unreasonable application and loan regulations as well as on-site challenges.On July 27, a national discussion on real estate policy was held at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Seoul, chaired by Prime Minister Han Seong-sook. This meeting was organized to gather additional input from young people, newlyweds, and the supply industry, following a discussion led by President Lee Jae-myung on July 23 that did not fully address their concerns.A representative from the New Home Sharing and Selection Pre-Application Emergency Response Committee stated, "Homebuyers who have been waiting for government announcements are struggling with contract difficulties due to uncertainties in loan conditions," urging the government to implement the previously announced fixed-rate policy mortgage and confirm key financial conditions before contracts.Young attendees emphasized the need for a predictable housing ladder that allows movement from rental to homeownership, not just the provision of affordable housing. They also called for reforms to prevent disadvantages in applications and loans due to marriage and life cycle changes.The supply industry proposed revising legal standards to reduce disputes over non-apartment sales contracts and introducing integrated reviews for converting knowledge industry centers into residential officetels. They requested selective financial support, citing difficulties in funding even viable projects due to bridge loans and project financing (PF) constraints.Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kim Yoon-deok stated, "We will transition from a sequential to a parallel processing system for approval procedures," adding that they will significantly shorten approval times through one-stop support for use changes and integrated reviews.Regarding the issues faced by pre-application winners, he emphasized that "the fundamental principle is to accurately implement what the government promised," and announced plans to hold discussions with winners soon to establish specific adjustment measures.The government aims to alleviate bottlenecks in supply while maintaining a cautious stance on uniformly relaxing regulations for private redevelopment projects that could stimulate housing prices. Minister Kim explained that indiscriminately increasing private floor area ratios could provoke short-term market instability, necessitating thorough public discourse and a refined approach.Prime Minister Han Seong-sook acknowledged the anxiety and financial burdens faced by pre-application winners due to changes in loan conditions, stating, "We take this matter very seriously and will examine on-site challenges one by one as directed by the President."The government has identified 12 cases needing improvement related to the so-called 'marriage penalty' that disadvantages individuals in applications and loans due to marriage. Additionally, over 20 proposals submitted on online forums are currently under investigation by relevant ministries.Prime Minister Han pledged, "We will boldly address unjust victim cases and regulatory obstacles raised both on-site and online, and we will establish improvement measures that the public can feel through cooperation with relevant ministries and a one-stop support system." 2026-07-27 17:32:00
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Samilp Introduces Three New 'Bespoke Breads' Tailored for Everyday Situations Samilp has announced the launch of three new products called 'Bespoke Breads' designed for various everyday situations.The term 'bespoke' originates from custom tailoring, meaning 'made to suit the tastes and needs of the customer.' Samilp has applied this concept to its bakery products, creating breads that fit into different consumer scenarios. The development process incorporated common life situations to ensure the flavors, sizes, and packaging designs are appropriate for each context.The 'Bulk-Up Pastry' targets those who need a quick snack on the go, featuring a large chocolate pastry topped with a sugar drizzle for a satisfying treat.'One-Bite Honey Balls' are designed as a convenient snack for office workers needing a quick energy boost. These mini cake balls, perfect for keeping in a desk drawer, are made with soft egg cake and sweetened with honey and sugar.On July 30, Samilp will release 'Just Right Pizza Bread,' aimed at satisfying hunger before dinner. This product features a classic pizza flavor with tomato sauce, corn, and mayonnaise.The new products will be available at convenience stores, large supermarkets, and grocery stores.A representative from Samilp stated, 'Bespoke Breads are designed to seamlessly integrate into consumers' lifestyles. We plan to continue introducing new bakery products that reflect our customers' lifestyles and consumption patterns.'* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-07-27 17:28:00
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The East joins the West in the survival game against extreme heat SEOUL, July 27 (AJP) - South Korea joined the global survival game against extreme heat on Monday as temperatures neared 40 degrees Celsius after the monsoon fizzled out, emptying streets and farm fields alike. Children and office workers, farmers and foreign tourists alike searched for clever ways to stay cool, crowding shopping malls, subway stations and other air-conditioned spaces. By 3 p.m., the government raised the national heat crisis alert to "grave," its highest level, and activated the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters. Behind the familiar summer scenes — umbrellas, handheld fans and iced drinks sweating in plastic cups — was a rapidly growing human toll. As of Sunday, 1,399 people had been treated for heat-related illnesses in South Korea this summer, with eight presumed deaths. Emergency rooms admitted 72 patients on Sunday alone, including two women in their 80s and 90s who later died in Hadong and Gimje. Daily emergency cases have risen sharply, from fewer than 20 on July 20 to 80 on July 25. The figures also reveal that extreme heat is anything but socially equal. More than 81 percent of patients became ill outdoors, with workplaces accounting for the largest share of cases. Manual laborers were the occupational group most frequently affected, while people aged 65 or older accounted for nearly one-third of all patients. For office workers, a heat wave can mean an uncomfortable commute. For farmers, construction workers, delivery drivers and elderly people living alone, it can become a matter of survival. Forecasters warned that the end of the rainy season allowed the North Pacific High and the Tibetan High to overlap above the Korean Peninsula, trapping hot air beneath a persistent dome of high pressure. The climate pardons none. Across the sea, Japan has been experiencing weather so severe that it has had to invent a new word for it. Japan's vocabulary for summer heat now resembles a meteorological staircase. A day above 25 C is a natsubi, or "summer day." Above 30 C comes a manatsubi, or "true summer day," followed by a moshobi, or "extremely hot day," once temperatures exceed 35 C. This year, the Japan Meteorological Agency effectively added another step: kokushobi, commonly translated as a "cruelly hot" or "brutally hot" day, for temperatures of 40 C or higher. Japan recorded its first official kokushobi on July 21. Gujo and Tajimi in Gifu Prefecture and Toyota in Aichi Prefecture all reached at least 40 C, with Toyota recording a local record of 40.1 C. Of Japan's 914 weather stations, 278 reported temperatures above 35 C that day. By July 25, Japan had endured five consecutive days above 40 C, the longest such streak since comparable records began in 2010. Nearly 11,000 people sought emergency medical care for heat-related illnesses between July 13 and 19, and 14 were pronounced dead on arrival. In Tokyo alone, 453 people were hospitalized on July 23, the city's highest daily total since records began more than a decade ago. Japan, famous for putting almost anything into a vending machine, has now built one for overheated humans. The Do Hiemon Box, nicknamed the "human refrigerator," is a stainless-steel personal cooling booth tall enough for an adult to enter. The booth is maintained at about 15 C, while air chilled to 5 C is directed at the user's head, neck, shoulders and back. Its manufacturer says spending about 10 minutes inside can help relieve symptoms of heat exhaustion. Standing 2.13 meters tall and mounted on wheels, the booth can be moved around factories and construction sites. It automatically shuts off after 20 minutes to prevent excessive cooling. Since its launch in April, more than 130 companies have reportedly installed the booths. At roughly 1.5 million yen ($9,200) each, they are an expensive refuge, though operating costs are relatively low. Elsewhere, construction workers are finding frozen drinks, ice cream and air-conditioned rest booths every few floors. In farming communities, signs urge people to work for 30 minutes and rest for the next 30. Japan's adaptation extends well beyond cooling booths. Tokyo officials have encouraged office workers to wear shorts, T-shirts and trainers under an expanded Cool Biz campaign. The national high school baseball championship has split games into morning and evening sessions to avoid the hottest hours, while farmers are planting heat-tolerant rice varieties and experimenting with subtropical crops such as avocados. The measures would once have sounded eccentric. They now read like a survival manual for a warming world. Europe, meanwhile, is discovering that a heat wave does not end when temperatures fall. It lingers in depleted reservoirs, damaged crops, shrinking rivers and hardened soil. France recorded 5,764 excess deaths during its severe heat wave between June 17 and July 2, according to provisional public health data. The Paris region alone accounted for nearly 2,000 of those deaths, with elderly people suffering the greatest impact. Scientists say Europe's drought is no longer simply a story of missing rainfall. Western Europe emerged from a relatively wet winter, but exceptionally high temperatures allowed the atmosphere to pull far more moisture from rivers, lakes, vegetation and soil. A World Weather Attribution analysis found that the extreme evaporative conditions were made about 80 times more likely by climate change in western Europe and 40 times more likely in eastern Europe. Soil dryness was made five times more likely in the west and 11 times more likely in the east. Europe's 2026 drought arrived roughly two months earlier than the severe drought of 2022. The Copernicus Climate Change Service said conditions remained critical across much of the continent in late June and had deteriorated further in central-western Europe following an extensive and prolonged heat wave. The economic consequences are already mounting. Europe is expected to lose about 9 million metric tons of grain this year. France faces its worst corn harvest in half a century, while Romanian farmers have lost crops across more than 1 million hectares. Water levels along Europe's major rivers have also fallen sharply. The Rhine at Lobith in the Netherlands dropped below the minimum recorded during the famously hot summer of 1976, restricting cargo traffic and reducing hydropower generation. Parts of the Loire have shrunk into narrow streams, while seasonal lows have also been reported along the Danube. The hotter atmosphere is creating a vicious cycle. Heat draws moisture from the ground. Dry soil loses its ability to cool the air through evaporation. Temperatures rise further, vegetation becomes more combustible and wildfires spread more easily. That same physical process is unfolding in different forms from Seoul to Tokyo and across Europe. The world has entered a survival game against extreme heat. Every country is now learning its own way to play it. 2026-07-27 17:27:06 -
K-Democratic Party's Capital Market Committee to Reassess Leverage ETFs The Democratic Party's K-Capital Market Special Committee has decided not to pursue immediate delisting or a reduction in leverage ratios for single stock leverage products, opting instead to first evaluate the effectiveness of the government's announced supplementary measures. However, the committee stated that using the term 'ETF' (exchange-traded fund) for these products is inappropriate and plans to redefine the terminology and promote self-regulation against exaggerated advertising.On July 27, the K-Capital Market Special Committee held a closed meeting in Yeouido, Seoul, with representatives (CEOs) from major securities and asset management firms to discuss the operational status of single stock leverage products and ways to mitigate market volatility.Attendees included Committee Chair Oh Gi-hyung, Secretary Kim Nam-keun, and other committee members, along with Hwang Seong-yeop, chairman of the Korea Financial Investment Association, and representatives from Kiwoom, Shinhan Investment, Kyobo Securities, Samsung, Mirae Asset, and KB Asset Management.The committee has drawn a line against previously considered measures such as reducing the leverage ratio from the current 2x to 1.5x or delisting. After the meeting, Oh told reporters, 'We are not currently considering adjusting the leverage ratio. We will first confirm whether the government's measures have a stabilizing effect on the market before determining the need for additional measures.'Secretary Kim also stated, 'Discussing immediate delisting could actually undermine market confidence. We are not considering reducing the existing 2x leverage ratio, and there is a common view among asset managers and securities firms that the current measures can sufficiently provide stability.'The committee and industry representatives expressed optimism that the government's proposed measures, including raising the basic deposit requirement to 30 million won and enhancing investor education, will significantly reduce market volatility when implemented in August.Kim noted, 'Raising the deposit requirement to 30 million won is expected to reduce the number of accounts from 100,000 to about 10,000 (a tenfold decrease) and daily trading volume by approximately 60%. We will observe the initial effects and consider raising the deposit requirement to 50 million won if necessary.'Meanwhile, the committee strongly criticized the structural issue of marketing single stock leverage products under the ETF label.Oh emphasized, 'ETFs are fundamentally designed for diversified investment across multiple stocks, so using the ETF name for single stock leverage products is inappropriate. We need to redefine the terminology to reflect the high-risk nature of these derivative financial products that expose investors to concentrated investment risks.'He added, 'To protect general investors, we will voluntarily limit excessive advertising and marketing, and we will also reconsider the use of the term ETF. If necessary, we will pursue related regulatory amendments.'* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-07-27 17:24:00