Korea fine drives Coupang to biggest loss since listing SEOUL, August 05 (AJP) -Coupang Inc. posted its largest quarterly operating loss since its 2021 New York listing after a record South Korean privacy fine pushed the company deeper into the red, while weaker profitability in its core retail business showed the deterioration extended beyond the one-off regulatory charge. The New York Stock Exchange-listed company reported an operating loss of $556 million for the second quarter ended June 30, compared with operating income of $149 mil August 5, 2026

Bloomberg warns volatile South Korean stock market is 'becoming uninvestable' SEOUL, August 4 (AJP) - South Korea's stock market is becoming "uninvestable" as extreme volatility erodes investor confidence in the KOSPI, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. In a column headlined "South Korea Is Becoming Uninvestable, Too," the daily's columnist Shuli Ren warned, "In recent years, global asset managers have complained that China is uninvestable, mainly over two issues - the government's policy failures and its disregard for inves August 4, 2026

KOSDAQ continues to outperform KOSPI after tightened rules on leveraged ETFs SEOUL, August 4 (AJP) - South Korea's junior KOSDAQ outperformed the benchmark KOSPI for a third straight session on Tuesday, extending its broad rally. Tighter regulations on single-stock leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETFs) reduced trading in chip stocks, broadening gains to biotechnology, robotics and other growth stocks. The KOSDAQ closed at 780.72 points, up 5.88 percent, while the KOSPI gained 1.62 percent to 6,358.95. The latest gain marked the third consecutive session August 4, 2026

AI startup XIIlab's shares soar as new contract fuels earnings hopes SEOUL, August 4 (AJP) - Artificial intelligence (AI) startup XIIlab saw its shares rise on the junior KOSDAQ on Tuesday. The stock closed at 11,020 won (US$7.93), up 17.23 percent from the previous session, after surging as much as 30 percent during the session to hit the daily price limit of 12,220 won. The rise came after the startup announced that it had signed a contract worth 30.7 billion won with BNINC, an AI infrastructure provider, to supply software for the National IT Indu August 4, 2026

Offshore NDF trading behind a third of won's March decline: BOK SEOUL, August 04 (AJP) - Offshore non-deliverable forward trading accounted for an estimated one-third of the won’s depreciation in March, highlighting the influence overseas positions over Korea’s domestic FX market. The impact was about four times greater overnight than during Seoul trading hours, when deeper liquidity and a broader range of transactions diluted the effect of NDF flows. The Bank of Korea on Tuesday released estimates of the impact of NDF trading on August 4, 2026

BECUAI hits daily limit on return from capital reduction SEOUL, August 04 (AJP) — Shares of South Korean artificial intelligence (AI) data company BECUAI surged to the daily 30 percent trading limit on Tuesday as trading resumed following a capital reduction, while growing demand for licensed AI training data added to positive sentiment. The stock was trading at 2,990 won ($2.15), up 30 percent from the previous close Tuesday, according to the Korea Exchange. Trading resumed after the company reduced the number of outstanding sha August 4, 2026

Korean issues in short-term debt hit record high H1 SEOUL, August 04 (AJP) —South Korean companies increasingly turned to short-term borrowing in the first half as higher funding costs and a sluggish capital market outside the semiconductor sector pushed issuers away from longer-term financing. According to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) on Tuesday, companies raised a record 1,272.8 trillion won ($917 billion) through commercial paper (CP) and short-term notes during the January-June period, up 68 percent from a year August 4, 2026

KOSPI slips as chipmakers fall; KOSDAQ surges 5% SEOUL, August 04 (AJP) - Korean shares diverged sharply Tuesday morning, with the benchmark KOSPI slipping as heavyweight semiconductor and automobile stocks declined, while the tech-heavy KOSDAQ surged 5 percent on institutional buying and gains in biotechnology and optical communications shares. As of 10:30 a.m., the KOSPI stood at 6,217.20, down 0.6 percent from the previous session. The index moved between an intraday high of 6,389.40 and a low of 6,080.30. Retail investo August 4, 2026

Crypto exchange Bithumb eyes IPO listing by 2028 SEOUL, August 4 (AJP) - Cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb has laid out a phased roadmap to pursue an initial public offering (IPO) by 2028. In a notice posted on X on Monday, the company said it has already begun IPO preparations by strengthening internal controls, improving accounting standards, and boosting transparency, with plans to file for a preliminary review in 2027 before completing the IPO in 2028. Bithumb said it is working with domestic and overseas securities firms, ac August 4, 2026

KOSPI slides after historic rally as chip stocks plunge SEOUL, August 3 (AJP) - South Korea's stock market tumbled on Monday, with Samsung Electronics and SK hynix both sinking more than 8 percent, sending the country's benchmark KOSPI back below 6,300 points. The decline erased much of Friday's historic rebound, which proved short-lived. The index closed 5.12 percent lower at 6,257.45 as foreign and institutional investors extended heavy selling despite aggressive buying by retail investors. Individuals snapped up a net 4.65 August 3, 2026