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  Bithumb accidentally sends 620,000 bitcoin to users in reward glitch SEOUL, February 07 (AJP) - South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb mistakenly distributed 620,000 bitcoin — worth about 244 trillion won ($170 billion) — to 249 users after an employee entered "bitcoin" instead of "won" while processing a promotional reward event. The exchange had intended to give out a total of 620,000 won ($423.5) through its "random box" event on Friday evening, with individual prizes ranging from 2,000 to 50,000 won February 7, 2026
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  Tokyo turns calm as vote day nears, while Asia broadly retreats  SEOUL, February 06 (AJP) - The Tokyo bourse held firm on Friday amid a broad retreat across Asia, as foreign investors trimmed exposure following a U.S. technology-sector scare. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.8 percent to close at 54,253.7, as sentiment steadied ahead of a pivotal snap election this weekend. Japanese voters head to the polls on Sunday, with the outcome expected to shape economic and security policy in the world’s third-largest economy and a key U.S. ally February 6, 2026
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  Seoul sells $3 bn in USD bonds, largest sovereign offering since global financial crisis SEOUL, February 06 (AJP) - South Korea on Thursday sold $3 billion in U.S. dollar-denominated bonds in its largest single sovereign offering since the aftermath of global financial crisis, building up the ammunition to defend the local currency while the debt environment remains favorable. According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance on Friday, the government issued $3 billion in foreign exchange stabilization bonds in two tranches: $1 billion in three-year notes and $2 billi February 6, 2026
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  Blockchain expert says adoption in banking is shifting toward financial infrastructure SEOUL, February 06 (AJP) - Global financial institutions are increasingly viewing stablecoins and tokenized deposits as essential infrastructure rather than speculative assets, according to Xin Yan, co-founder and chief executive officer of Sign, a blockchain technology company. This shift is driven by the demand for programmable money that can function natively on-chain. Unlike traditional fiat currency, which relies on fragmented legacy systems, on-chain assets allow for direct February 6, 2026
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  Koreans' overseas stock buying nearly matches current account surplus SEOUL, February 06 (AJP) - South Korean purchases of overseas stocks tripled from a year earlier to a record high last year, nearly matching the country’s record current account surplus, according to central bank data released on Friday. Preliminary balance-of-payments figures from the Bank of Korea (BOK) showed South Korean residents bought $114.3 billion worth of foreign equities in 2025, up $72.2 billion from the previous year. That amounted to 92.9 percent of t February 6, 2026
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  Regional winner becomes this week's biggest loser due to foreign selloff SEOUL, February 06 (AJP) - Markets across Asia flashed red Friday following a broad Wall Street pullback, with hitherto regional winner Korean stocks hardest hit by a global institutional selling spree. Losses in AI and big-tech shares on Nasdaq loomed over the KOSPI amid a decisive position shift by domestic and foreign institutions this week, setting off the second sell-side sidecar this week. Traders said the correction was inevitable after an almost nonstop rally this year February 6, 2026
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  KOSPI takes 4% hit for third session in a row, second sidecar activated in a week SEOUL, February 06 (AJP) – The downward spiral continued on the Seoul bourse Friday, with the main and secondary indices sliding more than 4 percent in early trading, triggering a sell-side sidecar for the second time this week. The Korea Exchange said a sell-side sidecar was activated on the main KOSPI board at 9:06 a.m. local time. The measure temporarily suspends program selling for five minutes to help contain excessive price swings. A sell-side sidecar is triggered when K February 6, 2026
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  More breach revelation, regulation, rivals exacerbate Coupang woes SEOUL, February 05 (AJP) -South Korea’s leading e-commerce platform Coupang said Thursday that the personal data of an additional 165,000 users had been leaked, deepening fallout from a massive breach disclosed last November and intensifying regulatory and political scrutiny. The company said the newly identified cases were part of the original breach, which exposed the personal information of more than 33 million users, and did not involve payment details, login credentials February 5, 2026
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  Freefall may be looming in Seoul as short selling mounts SEOUL, Feb. 05 (AJP) - “What goes up must come down,” the saying goes — and after a prolonged roller-coaster ride, Korean stocks plunged Thursday as heavy institutional selling triggered a sharp reversal. The immediate cue came from a retreat in U.S. technology shares. But the pullback was hardly unexpected, given the rapid buildup in short-selling positions and growing signs of speculative excess. Both the KOSPI and the secondary KOSDAQ tumbled nearly 4 perce February 5, 2026
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  Asian stocks mostly down on US losses, Korean markets take a header SEOUL, February 05 (AJP) -Korean stocks rode a volatile roller coaster downward Thursday on heavy foreign selling on global tech shares. The benchmark KOSPI tumbled 3.9 percent to close at 5,163.6, marking a steep pullback from recent record highs. The KOSPI 200 slid 4.2 percent to 757, reflecting broad-based losses among large-cap stocks, particularly in semiconductors and export-oriented names. Selling pressure was led by overseas and institutional investors. On the main boa February 5, 2026