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  Son of Mirae Asset founder moves to core Mirae unit to renew speculation on generational shift SEOUL, January 01 (AJP) -Park Jun-beom, the eldest son of Mirae Asset Chairman Park Hyun-joo, has moved from Mirae Asset Venture Investment to Mirae Asset Securities, the core unit of South Korea's top asset managing conglomerate, renewing speculation about a generational shift under making despite the founder's long-stated opposition to hereditary succession. Mirae Asset Securities said Thursday that Park, previously a senior investment reviewer at Mirae Asset Venture Inve January 1, 2026
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  Stock boom, currency bust: Korea's uneven market rally may spill into 2026 SEOUL, December 31 (AJP) - Roaring stock prices and a tumbling currency defined South Korea’s financial markets in 2025 — a divergence that may persist well into next year. The benchmark KOSPI closed the year Tuesday at 4,214.17, up 75.6 percent from a year earlier, while the tech-heavy KOSDAQ jumped 37 percent to 925.47. Both far outperformed regional peers, powered by surging demand for semiconductors, shipbuilding and defense-related stocks. Chipmakers were the u December 31, 2025
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  Korea's inflation holds near 2% target in 2025, but everyday prices stay close to 3% SEOUL, December 31 (AJP) - South Korea’s headline inflation remained broadly anchored near the central bank’s target in 2025, easing to a five-year low of 2.1 percent for the full year, even as households continued to face elevated price pressures in daily expenses hovering near 3 percent — a gap likely to widen further amid persistent weakness in the won. The consumer price index rose 2.3 percent in December from a year earlier, slowing slightly from the 2.4 per December 31, 2025
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  Korea's Digital Asset Basic Act faces delay amid dispute over stablecoin rules SEOUL, December 31 (AJP) -South Korea’s government is preparing a Digital Asset Basic Act that would introduce stronger investor protections, including no-fault liability for damages and safeguards to prevent losses stemming from stablecoin issuers’ failures, but the legislation is stalemated by disagreements over stablecoin guidelines. According to financial authorities and National Assembly officials on Tuesday, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) is drafting the December 31, 2025
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  IPO pipeline packed for KOSDAQ, KOSPI candidates stay on hold 2025 SEOUL, December 30 (AJP) - South Korea’s initial public offering market staged a belated rebound in the second half of the year, as the KOSPI’s surge past the 4,000 mark revived investor appetite and unleashed a rush of new listings — particularly on the tech-heavy KOSDAQ. A total of 77 companies went public this year, including seven on the KOSPI and 70 on the KOSDAQ. Companies raised a combined 4.56 trillion won ($3.15 billion), up 14.9 percent from a year earlie December 30, 2025
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  Asian stocks end 2025 quietly as Korean chipmakers steal the spotlight SEOUL, December 30 (AJP) - Asian equities wrapped up the final trading session of 2025 mostly flat on Tuesday, while South Korean semiconductor shares closed the year in celebratory fashion, hitting fresh all-time highs. Korea’s benchmark KOSPI slipped 0.15 percent to finish at 4,214.17. Despite the modest pullback, the index logged a surge of more than 75 percent from the final trading day of last year — the strongest annual performance among major Asian stock markets December 30, 2025
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  KOSPI posts world's fastest gains in 2025, but capital outflows cloud celebration SEOUL, December 30 (AJP) - South Korea emerged as the world’s best-performing equity market in 2025, with its benchmark KOSPI surging nearly 76 percent over the year. Yet the historic rally came with a paradox: while stock prices soared to record highs, outbound investment overwhelmed domestic buying, leaving the won among the weakest currencies in the region. The KOSPI closed at 4,214.17 on Dec. 30, the final trading day of the year, nearly doubling from 2,399.49 at the end December 30, 2025
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  Korea's foreign money deposits rise on weak won, BOK revises M2 definition SEOUL, December 30 (AJP) -South Korea’s resident foreign-currency deposits rose in November as companies held on to dollar and euro assets amid expectations that the won’s weakness would persist, highlighting deeper structural pressures in the currency market even as authorities revise how monetary liquidity is measured. According to the Bank of Korea, foreign-currency deposits held at domestic banks totaled $103.55 billion at the end of November, up $1.71 billion from a December 30, 2025
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  Asian stocks quiet on '25 final day, Korean chip shares rally on inventory squeeze SEOUL, December 30 (AJP) - Asian equity markets spent the final trading day of 2025 on a largely subdued note, with South Korea standing out as memory-chip stocks surged to new highs amid signs of tightening supply. In Seoul, the benchmark KOSPI inched up 2.10 points to 4,222.66 as of 10:10 a.m., while the tech-heavy KOSDAQ fell 0.9 percent to 924.70. The broader index was little changed overall, but heavyweight semiconductor shares extended their rally. Samsung Electronics rose December 30, 2025
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  Korean stock market reclaims the 4,200 level SEOUL, December 29 (AJP) - While Asian markets were mixed—with Japan slightly down and China remaining flat—Korean stocks rose sharply. In Seoul, the benchmark KOSPI climbed 2.2 percent to close at 4,220 on Monday, while the KOSDAQ gained 1.4 percent to end at 932.59. It was the first time since Nov. 3 that the KOSPI closed above the 4,200 mark. The current level is just one point below the record high of 4,221.87 set on that date. Both Samsung Electronics a December 29, 2025