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  Korea Investment & Securities takes 20% of Coinone in crypto deal SEOUL, June 4 (AJP) - Korea Investment & Securities has acquired about 20 percent of cryptocurrency exchange Coinone and formed a joint-shareholder structure with global exchange OKX and Com2uS Holdings, the firm said on Thursday. The move positions the company to become an issuance hub for security tokens ahead of new rules taking effect early next year. The brokerage acquired 159,610 Coinone shares in total, combining 68,894 existing shares held by Com2uS Holdings with 90,7 June 4, 2026
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  Won weakens to lowest level since global financial crisis SEOUL, June 4 (AJP) - South Korea's financial markets suffered a sharp sell-off on Thursday as the won fell to a 17-year low past 1,530 per dollar and sovereign bond yields spiked, driven by heavy foreign capital outflows and a trio of external shocks: escalating Middle East tensions, a hawkish Federal Reserve and a surprise monetary tightening signal from Japan. In Seoul's currency market, the won opened at 1,530 per dollar, down 13.6 won from the previous session's clo June 4, 2026
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  KOSPI tumbles at reopen after local elections as US sell-off hits chip stocks SEOUL, June 4 (AJP) - South Korea's benchmark KOSPI fell 2.3 percent to around 8,596 when trading resumed on Thursday, retreating from Tuesday's record close of 8,801 as investors reacted to an overnight Wall Street sell-off and renewed tensions in the Middle East. U.S. stocks had dropped overnight, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 620 points and the Nasdaq 240, as a correction in technology shares and a slump in Broadcom soured sentiment across the chip complex June 4, 2026
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  South Korea's FX reserves decline in May after brief rebound SEOUL, June 4 (AJP) - South Korea's foreign exchange reserves declined in May, reversing a brief one-month rebound. According to the Bank of Korea on Thursday, South Korea's foreign exchange reserves stood at $426.99 billion at the end of May, down $880 million from the previous month. The drop came after authorities implemented market stabilization measures including a foreign exchange swap with the National Pension Service (NPS), which reduced the country's dollar h June 4, 2026
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  Nikkei storms past 68,000 to record as chip-equipment makers lead AI rotation; Shanghai flat SEOUL, June 03 (AJP) - Japan's Nikkei 225 stormed past 68,000 for the first time in its history on Wednesday, closing up about 2.5 percent at around 68,400, as a fresh leg of the global AI trade reignited by record highs on Wall Street rotated decisively into the semiconductor equipment makers. With South Korea's markets closed for the national election, Tokyo carried the regional session while China's Shanghai Composite finished essentially flat at around 4,077. The det June 3, 2026
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  KOSPI ekes out gains as rally extends beyond tech giants SEOUL, June 2 (AJP) - South Korea's benchmark KOSPI edged to another record close on Tuesday, finishing slightly higher in a session whose flat headline masked one of the most dramatic shifts of the year. The index closed at around 8,799 points, up 0.1 percent, after having fallen more than 1 percent around midday on oil-price nerves before clawing the entire loss back by the close. Beneath the surface, the top performers that had defined the rally for months gave way. Money June 2, 2026
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  Grocery delivery app Kurly to acquire AI startup SEOUL, June 2 (AJP) - Grocery delivery app Kurly will acquire Seoul-based artificial intelligence (AI) startup 1Z Labs in a bid to improve efficiency across its business operations, according to industrial sources on Tuesday. Kurly plans to issue around 453,518 new shares by early August in a stock-swap deal that will make the startup its wholly owned subsidiary. The two companies have already been jointly developing AI-related technologies, with plans to expand the use of AI a June 2, 2026
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  Hana Asset Management's four US index ETFs cross 1 trillion won in combined assets SEOUL, June 2 (AJP) - The combined net assets of Hana Asset Management's four U.S.-index exchange-traded funds have surpassed 1 trillion won, the company said on Tuesday. The fastest growth has come not from its plain index trackers, but from two bond-mixed products designed to take advantage of a 2023 revision to pension-account rules allowing investors to hold them at a full 100 percent allocation. The four funds held a combined 1.0431 trillion won (US$691 million) as of th June 2, 2026
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  KOSPI retreats after record close as foreign investors sell SEOUL, June 2 (AJP) - South Korea's benchmark KOSPI slipped in morning trade on Tuesday, retreating from the previous day's record close as investors took profits in major stocks. The index dropped to around 8,700 after closing at an all-time high of 8,788.38 the previous session. Shares of LG affiliates, which had led the previous session's rally, came under selling pressure, while a surprise US$80 billion equity raise by Google parent Alphabet prompted investors to rea June 2, 2026
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  South Korean bond yields surge on hawkish BOK remarks amid lingering Middle East conflict SEOUL, June 1 (AJP) - South Korean government bond yields surged following a double blow of U.S. President Donald Trump's rejection of a draft peace memorandum of understanding with Iran and hawkish remarks from the Bank of Korea (BOK) governor. The local currency, in contrast, erased early losses to close slightly higher as a clearer path toward interest rate hikes cushioned the market. The three-year government bond yield rose 5.9 basis points to 3.790 percent, its highest June 1, 2026