FSS to tighten rules on ELS products to protect investors SEOUL, August 6 (AJP) - As the South Korean stock market remains highly volatile with the benchmark KOSPI tumbling more than 4 percent on Thursday alone, market analysts expect a set of new government measures to protect investors in structured products unveiled the previous day to help contain market jitters while easing investor anxiety. The measures, outlined by the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), followed three months of discussions with the Korea Financial Investment Assoc August 6, 2026

Dormant debt market exposes non-chip Korean Inc. slump SEOUL, August 06 (AJP) - Summer arrived early for South Korea's corporate debt market as only a handful of investment-grade issuers broke the drought amid rising borrowing costs and subdued investor demand, exposing the slump across much of non-chip Korean Inc. Public corporate bond issuance totaled 2.96 trillion won ($2.1 billion) in July, down 16.1 percent from June and 37.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the Korea Financial Investment Association. Only 11 issuers c August 6, 2026

SK hynix plunge sinks KOSPI despite broader gains SEOUL, August 06 (AJP) -The KOSPI on Thursday reversed, weighed down by two heavyweights - SK and Samsung. The KOSPI, the main board of the Korea Exchange, closed at 6,296.4, down 4.6 percent, after SK hynix fell 10.4 percent to 1,495,000 won ($1,050) and Samsung Electronics dropped 6.3 percent to 230,500 won ($161.90). SK, the de facto holding company of the memory chipmaker, also lost 9.4 percent. The two chipmakers are worth roughly half the main board between them, and a wea August 6, 2026

Korean Inc. doles out over $5 bn in July cash dividends SEOUL, August 06 (AJP) — South Korean companies doled out more than 7.4 trillion won ($5.3 billion) in cash dividends in July, led by Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor, as businesses stepped up shareholder returns under the government's drive to improve corporate value. According to the Korea Exchange (KRX) on Thursday, 90 listed companies, including 58 on the main KOSPI market and 32 on the junior KOSDAQ market, announced cash dividend payments totaling about 7.4 tri August 6, 2026

KOSDAQ-listed processed meat producer seeks capital boost SEOUL, August 6 (AJP) - KOSDAQ-listed processed meat producer Wing Yip Food said Thursday that its chairman and major shareholders will further increase their stakes by investing 20.8 billion won in newly issued shares to strengthen the company's capital base. According to a disclosure filed with the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), its chairman, Wang Xiantao, purchased 18,355 shares the previous day at an average price of 1,148 won per share, spending about 21.1 million won August 6, 2026

Won rides U.S.-Japan intervention as Seoul stays muted, Beijing cries foul SEOUL, August 06 (AJP) - South Korea has kept a studied silence over the first openly acknowledged U.S.-Japan currency intervention in decades, even as the won emerged as one of its biggest beneficiaries, while China condemned the operation as a self-serving bargain that is unlikely to alter the yen's long-term decline. The contrasting reactions underscore how Washington and Tokyo's joint defense of the yen has rippled differently across Asia. Seoul has avoided publicly comm August 6, 2026

KOSPI heads back south on overnight Wall Street tech retreat SEOUL, August 06 (AJP) — The roller-coaster ride in Seoul headed back south Thursday, as South Korean stocks tracked an overnight pullback in U.S. tech shares that spread across the region's semiconductor sector. The KOSPI fell 4.13 percent to 6,325.82 as of 10:08 a.m. local time, with losses deepening as the session wore on. Foreign investors were the biggest sellers, offloading a net 1.14 trillion won ($798 million) in shares. Retail investors bought a net 995.6 billion August 6, 2026

South Korean investors turn cautious after leveraged ETF frenzy SEOUL, August 5 (AJP) - Just weeks ago, South Korea's stock market looked less like an equity market than a high-stakes casino as some observers put it. Retail investors poured hundreds of trillions of won into newly launched single-stock leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETFs) linked to the country's two major chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, fueling one of the sharpest boom-and-bust cycles in the country's stock market history. Circuit breakers were activ August 5, 2026

Korean won emerges as winner in U.S. "prosper-thy-neighbor" yen defense SEOUL, August 05 (AJP) - Currency intervention has long been viewed as a classic beggar-thy-neighbor policy, with governments weakening their currencies at the expense of trading partners. The latest U.S.-Japan operation appears to be doing the opposite, giving the South Korean won an unexpected tailwind alongside the yen. That raises an obvious question: Has Washington suddenly become more generous? Why would an administration that has championed "America First" intervene August 5, 2026

Won, Korean bonds rally as Middle East tensions ease SEOUL, August 05 (AJP) - South Korea’s won and government bonds rallied on Wednesday as optimism over a potential U.S.-Iran agreement pushed oil prices lower, easing inflation concerns and drawing investors back into local assets. The won closed the daytime session at 1,424.5 won to the dollar, strengthening by 8.0 won, or 0.56 percent, from Tuesday’s close of 1,432.5. The three-year Korean government bond yield fell 7.1 basis points to 3.669 percent, while the 10-y August 5, 2026