news highlight

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  Won hits 14-month high, Korean bonds rebound SEOUL, September 03 (AJP) - The South Korean won climbed to a 14-month high against the dollar Thursday, while government bonds rallied as global yields eased after a sharp selloff. The won ended daytime trading at 1,359.3 per dollar, strengthening 0.7 percent from Wednesday and marking its strongest close since July 2, 2025. It touched 1,355.9 during the session, the strongest intraday level since July 3 last year. Exporter dollar selling added to broader weakness in the U. September 3, 2026
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  Korean FX authorities reportedly absorb $20 billion SK hynix funds SEOUL, September 03 (AJP) - South Korea's foreign-exchange authorities reportedly absorbed about $20 billion of SK hynix's U.S. share proceeds off market, while the won closed Thursday at its strongest level in about 14 months. The Foreign Exchange Stabilization Fund, or FESF, bought about $20 billion in dollars repatriated after SK hynix raised $26.5 billion through an American depositary receipt offering in July, Reuters reported Wednesday, citing a source with direct know September 3, 2026
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  Solution firm LaonPeople surges on gov't-led physical AI project SEOUL, September 3 (AJP) - Artificial intelligence (AI)-related solution company LaonPeople surged to its daily trading limit on Thursday after being selected for a government-backed physical AI project aimed at developing autonomous manufacturing technology. Its shares jumped 29.84 percent to 3,220 won (US$2.35) on the junior KOSDAQ as of around 2:40 p.m., reaching the market's daily price ceiling. The rally came after the company said it had been selected for a research pro September 3, 2026
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  KOSPI edges higher despite selling across the board SEOUL, September 3 (AJP) - South Korea's benchmark KOSPI closed higher on Thursday, even though individual investors, foreigners and institutions all pulled money out of the main board. It was the third time in four sessions that the index rose as all three major investor groups were net sellers. The index rose 16.76 points or 0.3 percent to close at 6,579.48. Underneath the gain was a rotation rather than a recovery. Shipbuilders, insurers and banks were bought hard, the s September 3, 2026
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  AI spending binge steepens Korea's bond curve SEOUL, September 03 (AJP) - As the race for AI supremacy sends government and corporate spending into the stratosphere, investors are demanding more to lend for decades — a shift showing up starkly in South Korea, where yields have risen progressively faster toward the long end of the government bond curve. The yield chart over the past year shows an increasingly steep repricing toward longer maturities. The 30-year yield has climbed the most, touching a record 4.751 percent i September 3, 2026
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  Korea's crypto access can strengthen stablecoin-FX link:BOK SEOUL, September 03 (AJP) - Wider corporate and foreign participation in South Korea's crypto market could allow dollar stablecoin demand shocks to pass more directly into foreign-exchange trading and the won, Bank of Korea researchers said Thursday. Kim Ji-hyun and Cho Sang-heum of the BOK's International Finance Research Team said in an Issue Note that the presence of global intermediaries can determine how closely stablecoin markets are linked with traditional FX markets. September 3, 2026
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  Seoul rebounds as bond yields ease, chip tariffs loom SEOUL, September 03 (AJP) - The KOSPI rebounded at Thursday's open, clawing back part of the previous session's 4 percent slide after U.S. Treasury yields pulled back from a nearly three-year high and Wall Street snapped a two-day losing streak. The main index in Seoul was quoted at 6,661.27 in morning trade. The index added 98.55 points, or 1.5 percent. The recovery is narrow. The KOSPI 200 gained 1.4 percent, while the KOSDAQ, the junior board for smaller and technolog September 3, 2026
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  Bad loans hit 8-year high, but banks can absorb losses, FSS says SEOUL, September 02 (AJP) - Corporate debt is souring at a faster pace in South Korea, but financial authorities say the increase in bad loans is unlikely to pose a broader financial risk as banks remain profitable and well capitalized. Business nonperforming loans, or NPLs, rose by 1 trillion won from three months earlier to 15.2 trillion won at the end of June, accounting for the bulk of the banking sector's 18.9 trillion won in bad loans, according to the Financial Supervisor September 2, 2026
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  KOSPI tumbles on rising oil prices, bond yields SEOUL, September 2 (AJP) - A surge in Middle East crude oil prices and a deepening global bond selloff drove South Korea's benchmark KOSPI down 4.0 percent on Wednesday, the steepest fall among Asia's major markets. The index shed 273.08 points to close at 6,562.72. South Korea was hit harder than Japan and China because it faced two shocks at the same time. Dubai crude, widely used by South Korean refiners, jumped US$7.78 to $98.60 a barrel Tuesday, putting it several do September 2, 2026