US, Japan vow to continue joint yen-supporting intervention SEOUL, August 03 (AJP) -The United States and Japan vowed Monday to continue supporting the yen after admitting to a rare joint intervention last week to stabilize the currency of the world's largest foreign holder of U.S. Treasuries, which also resulted in lifting both the South Korean won and U.S. government bonds. The admission explained last week's abrupt reversal in the yen, which in turn helped lift the South Korean won as investors unwound long-dollar positions acro August 3, 2026

Brokerage sees long-term buying opportunity in KOSDAQ's Ecopro BM SEOUL, August 03 (AJP) — Shares of South Korean battery materials maker Ecopro BM fell more than 11 percent on Monday after Hana Securities slashed its target price by 40 percent, but the brokerage argued the selloff has already priced in most near-term risks, leaving room for a recovery as long-term battery demand strengthens. The brokerage cut its target price to 154,000 won ($111) from 257,000 won, saying demand is expected to remain weak as major European customers delay n August 3, 2026

Seoul unwinds record rebound as foreigners flip to selling SEOUL, August 03 (AJP) - Korean stocks gave back a large piece of Friday's record rebound at Monday's open, as foreign investors flipped from historic buying back to selling in the same chip shares that had driven the surge. The main index in Seoul shed 322.7 points to 6,272.8, a drop of 4.9 percent. Samsung Electronics fell 7.8 percent and SK hynix 7.5 percent, pulling the large-cap KOSPI 200 down 5.3 percent while the KOSDAQ lost only 0.35 percent to 718.18. Tokyo August 3, 2026

Record foreign buying sends Seoul's chip titans to daily limit SEOUL, July 31 (AJP) — South Korea's stock market staged one of the most dramatic reversals in its history Friday as record foreign buying and twin near-30 percent surges in Samsung Electronics and SK hynix erased days of panic selling, signaling that global investors remain convinced the artificial-intelligence investment boom is far from over. Foreign investors snapped up a record 7.18 trillion won ($5.2 billion) worth of KOSPI shares, fueling the benchmark index's July 31, 2026

Chip stock swings push Korea's FX turnover to record on hedging demand SEOUL, July 31 (AJP) - The same forces driving wild swings in South Korea's semiconductor stocks are now reshaping the country's foreign-exchange market. As AI-fueled volatility draws record foreign participation in Seoul's equity market, demand for currency hedging has pushed daily foreign-exchange turnover to an all-time high, a trend highlighted Friday when unprecedented overseas buying of Korean shares generated heavy FX trading but only a muted immediate rally in t July 31, 2026

Foreign ownership in Korean shares rises despite record selloff SEOUL, July 31 (AJP) -Foreign investors sold nearly 50 trillion won ($31.2 billion) worth of South Korean equities in June, yet their ownership of the market climbed to 36.4 percent — the highest in months — suggesting the six-month selling streak has been more a portfolio reshuffle than a broad retreat as soaring share prices boosted the value of remaining holdings. Foreign investors recorded a net withdrawal of 44.86 trillion won from South Korea's listed securit July 31, 2026

ETF boom pushes public funds to overtake private funds for 1st time SEOUL, July 31 (AJP) - South Korea's public investment funds overtook private funds in total assets for the first time in the first half of this year, driven by surging demand for exchange-traded funds (ETFs) as retail investors poured money into the stock market. According to the Korea Financial Investment Association (KOFIA) on Friday, public funds jumped 47.3 percent from the end of last year to 897.4 trillion won (US$646 billion), while private funds grew 9.2 percent to 837. July 31, 2026

Won visits 9-month high on suspected Seoul-Tokyo intervention SEOUL, July 31 (AJP) -The South Korean won briefly climbed to its strongest level against the dollar in nine months on Friday as traders speculated that Seoul and Tokyo had stepped into currency markets to head off yen carry-driven capital flight ahead of the Bank of Japan's policy decision. The won strengthened to 1,418 per dollar around 6 a.m., its strongest level since Oct. 20, 2025, before easing to around 1,435 by midday. The Korean currency since mid-July has staged a July 31, 2026

SK's Chey buys first SK hynix stake before 20% rebound SEOUL, July 31 (AJP) —SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won made his first direct purchase of SK hynix shares just one day before the AI memory giant rebounded more than 20 percent, turning his buy-the-dip move into an immediate paper gain. A regulatory filing with the Financial Supervisory Service on Thursday showed Chey purchased 3,620 common shares of SK hynix earlier in the day at an average price of 1,353,677 won per share. The investment was worth about 4.9 billion won ($3.5 July 31, 2026

South Korea opens door to three more tech firms on KOSDAQ SEOUL, July 31 (AJP) — South Korea moved three more technology companies a step closer to the stock market after the Korea Exchange approved their preliminary applications for a KOSDAQ listing. The Korea Exchange's KOSDAQ Market Division said Thursday that Melcon, a manufacturer of precision temperature and humidity control equipment, Lablup, an artificial intelligence infrastructure software developer, and MBD, a medical device company, had passed the exchange's list July 31, 2026