KOSPI regains ground after chip-stock sell-off, but recovery remains fragile SEOUL, July 29 (AJP) - Seoul stocks opened higher on Wednesday after the previous day's rout, but gave up most of their early gains within the first hour, leaving the rebound looking less convincing. The KOSPI climbed back above 6,200 in early trade before fading to 6,078.77, up 0.9 percent. Samsung Electronics led the recovery, rising 3.9 percent to 228,500 South Korean won (US$157), while SK hynix barely moved, edging up 0.1 percent to 1,551,000 won. That divergence shap July 29, 2026

How South Korea became Asia's AI ETF test case SEOUL, July 28 (AJP) — Not long ago, Nvidia was the trade that defined the artificial intelligence boom. Today, investors are searching for the next AI winner—and using increasingly leveraged financial products to amplify those bets. That search is reshaping not only Asia's semiconductor industry but also its capital markets. As investors crowd into a handful of AI champions, exchanges are racing to launch new products while regulators grapple with where to draw the July 28, 2026

China chip fears send KOSPI plunging over 10% SEOUL, July 28 (AJP) - China's growing push into semiconductors rattled South Korea's stock market on Tuesday. Shares of Samsung Electronics and SK hynix crashed, sparking panic across the market. The sell-off was severe enough to activate automatic trading halts on both the benchmark KOSPI and the junior KOSDAQ, including sidecars and circuit breakers designed to curb sharp market declines. The KOSPI tumbled 10.84 percent to 6,023.66, briefly falling below the 6,000-poin July 28, 2026

South Korea's elderly top 20%; working population slips below 70% SEOUL, July 28 (AJP) —South Korea's aging deepened last year, with those aged 65 or older topping 20 percent of the population, more than doubling the share of children aged 14 or younger, while the working-age population fell below the 70-percent threshold for the first time, census data showed Tuesday. According to the 2025 Population and Housing Census released by the Ministry of Data and Statistics, people aged 65 and older accounted for 20.7 percent of the population July 28, 2026

Seoul weighs individual cap if leveraged ETF speculation persists SEOUL, July 28 (AJP) —South Korea is considering imposing an individual investment cap on single-stock leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETFs) should speculative trading persist despite recent market stabilization measures, the country's financial chief said Tuesday. Financial Services Commission Chairman Lee Eog-weon said authorities will first assess whether tighter rules taking effect Friday, including a higher minimum cash deposit requirement, are sufficient to cool s July 28, 2026

KOSPI leads broad Asian selloff with 8% tumble SEOUL, July 28 (AJP) - Korean stocks plunged Tuesday morning, with the benchmark KOSPI falling more than 8 percent to the 6,200 level, as a selloff in U.S. artificial intelligence chip stocks and concerns over China’s growing semiconductor capabilities battered major technology shares. Sell-side sidecars were triggered in both the KOSPI and KOSDAQ markets shortly after the opening bell, followed by a circuit breaker on the main market that halted trading for 20 minutes. July 28, 2026

China's new chip power triggers Korean selloff, sparks 21st sidecar SEOUL, July 28 (AJP) - South Korean stocks plunged Tuesday, triggering the market's 21st sidecar of the month after a fresh rout in U.S. semiconductor shares combined with growing investor bets on China's emerging memory-chip champion to spark another wave of foreign selling. The Korea Exchange activated a sidecar — a five-minute suspension of program trading designed to cool excessive volatility — shortly after the open as benchmark indices tumbled more than 5 July 28, 2026

KOSPI rebounds as AI bets outweigh China memory threat SEOUL, July 27 (AJP) — South Korean stocks rebounded Monday after investors looked past the blockbuster debut of Chinese memory chipmaker CXMT and instead focused on fresh artificial intelligence (AI) partnerships, allowing chip shares to recover from early declines. The benchmark KOSPI closed at 6,755.75, up 0.97 percent after reversing an early decline triggered by more than 2 trillion won in foreign selling. The junior KOSDAQ outperformed, rising 2.22 percent to 764.86. July 27, 2026

Korea's AI chip ETF frenzy poised to spread to Tokyo SEOUL, July 27 (AJP) —The chip-linked leveraged ETF frenzy that turned South Korea into a proving ground for AI-fueled speculative trading is poised to spill over to Japan. U.S. asset managers are seeking to launch the first single-stock leveraged exchange-traded funds tied to Japanese chipmaker, modeled after single-stock instruments on Samsung Electronics and SK hynix to ride on the AI chip fever. According to Bloomberg on Monday, U.S. firms including Kogi Strategies July 27, 2026

Record dollar deposits lift Koreans' foreign currency holdings by $1 bn in June SEOUL, July 27 (AJP) -South Koreans increased their foreign currency deposits by more than $1 billion, or the largest in in four months in June, driven by hefty semiconductor export proceeds and rising funds parked for overseas stock investments. Resident foreign currency deposits at domestic banks reached $113.33 billion at the end of June, up $1.08 billion from a month earlier, according to data released by the Bank of Korea on Monday. The balance was the highest since February. July 27, 2026