YG doubles operating profit Q1 on year on BLACKPINK comeback SEOUL, May 08 (AJP) - South Korea’s K-pop powerhouse YG Entertainment more than doubled first-quarter operating profit as revenue from BLACKPINK and rising contributions from younger artists boosted earnings, reinforcing expectations for a stronger comeback cycle this year despite weaker-than-expected net profit. According to its earnings report released Thursday, YG Entertainment posted an operating profit of 19.4 billion won ($13.2 million) in the January-March period, up May 8, 2026

KOSPI retreats after historic rally as foreign investors dump shares SEOUL, May 8 (AJP) - South Korea's KOSPI took a breather on Friday after a strong three-day rally that saw the benchmark index gain more than 13 percent, weighed down by heavy foreign selling. As of around 11 a.m., the KOSPI stood at 7,378.17, down 1.49 percent, from the previous session. The retreat came just a day after the index briefly crossed the 7,500 mark for the first time in its history, having surpassed the 7,000 threshold in the previous session, as foreign investo May 8, 2026

Japan leads Asia rally, KOSPI hits new high SEOUL, May 07 (AJP) - Japan led a broad rally across Asian markets on Thursday, with the Nikkei 225 surging to a fresh all-time high as easing oil prices, renewed optimism over a possible U.S.-Iran agreement and another global surge in AI-linked semiconductor shares fueled aggressive buying across the region. The Nikkei 225 jumped 5.6 percent to close at a record 62,833.8, while the broader TOPIX gained 3.4 percent after Japanese markets reopened following an extended holiday brea May 7, 2026

KOSPI hits new heights and ordinary Koreans can only watch in envy SEOUL, May 07 (AJP) - South Korea’s benchmark stock index keeps scaling one record after another, but for many ordinary investors the rally feels increasingly like a private party they cannot afford to enter. After surging 70 percent last year, the KOSPI has already climbed another 77 percent this year, propelled overwhelmingly by a handful of AI-fueled chip giants. The gains have become so concentrated that while paper wealth has exploded, many retail investors holding smal May 7, 2026

SK Telecom turns to AI infrastructure as core mobile business weakens SEOUL, May 7 (AJP) - South Korea's largest mobile carrier SK Telecom is increasingly turning to artificial intelligence (AI)-driven infrastructure as its new growth engine. According to its first-quarter earnings report released on Thursday, SK Telecom posted an operating profit of 537.6 billion Korean won (US$393 million) in the first three months of this year, down 5.3 percent from a year earlier, reflecting a slump in its core telecom business. Revenue also fell 1. May 7, 2026

Coupang credit card transaction volume surpasses levels recorded before data leak SEOUL, May 07 (AJP) - April credit card transaction volume for South Korean e-commerce leader Coupang surged back to record levels, signaling that the platform's market dominance remains intact. The rebound follows a massive personal information breach revealed late last year, according to mobile index data released by artificial intelligence firm IGAWorks on Thursday. IGAWorks' data showed that monthly credit and debit card payments for Coupang reached 4.6 trillion won ($ May 7, 2026

KOSPI briefly tops 7,500 for first time as AI chip rally powers Seoul stocks SEOUL, May 07 (AJP) - South Korean stocks surged to another record Thursday, with the benchmark KOSPI briefly topping the 7,500 mark for the first time as easing oil prices, renewed optimism over a potential U.S.-Iran agreement and another global surge in AI-linked chip shares fueled heavy buying in Seoul’s largest technology stocks. The main index climbed as high as 7,531.88, breaking above the 7,500 mark after Wall Street’s three major indexes closed sharply higher o May 7, 2026

Korea's FX reserves rebound in April on eased foreign stock selling and dollar SEOUL, May 7 (AJP) — South Korea’s foreign exchange reserves rebounded in April after a brief contraction a month earlier, as gains in foreign-currency assets fueled by a stronger U.S. dollar helped offset pressure from authorities’ won-defense operations, the central bank said Thursday. According to monthly data from the Bank of Korea (BOK), the country’s foreign exchange reserves stood at $427.88 billion at the end of April, up $4.22 billion from the prev May 7, 2026

KOSPI flies over yet another milestone on single chip engine SEOUL, May 06 (AJP) - South Korea’s stock benchmark powered through energy shocks and inflation fears to race past one four-digit milestone after another and outperform the S&P 500, though the rally is increasingly raising concerns over overheating and heavy dependence on a single engine: semiconductors. The KOSPI closed at 7,384.56 on Wednesday, up 6.45 percent, blasting through another psychological threshold without the usual consolidation period. The rally remained May 6, 2026

KOSPI shatters 7,300, outpacing Asia as foreign buying floods chip stocks SEOUL, May 06 (AJP) - South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI surged to a fresh record high Wednesday, sharply outperforming regional peers as foreign investors piled into semiconductor heavyweights, while most Asian markets posted more modest gains and Japan remained closed for the Golden Week holiday. The KOSPI jumped 6.5 percent to close at 7,384.56, after moving between an intraday low of 7,093.00 and a high of 7,426.60, briefly breaking above the 7,400 level during the session. May 6, 2026