The KOSPI closed at 3,021.84 on June 20, 2025. Courtesy of the Korea ExchangeSEOUL, June 20 (AJP) - South Korea's benchmark stock index, KOSPI, closed above the 3,000-point mark on Friday for the first time in more than three years, signaling renewed investor confidence in the nation's economic outlook.
The local currency also strengthened significantly against the U.S. dollar.
The KOSPI rose 44.1 points, or 1.48 percent, to close at 3,021.84. This marked the first time the index finished above 3,000 since Dec. 28, 2021. The KOSPI originally crossed this milestone for the first time in its history on Jan. 6, 2021.
Analysts attributed the upward momentum to a combination of increased global market liquidity and optimism surrounding the fiscal policies of the Lee Jae-myung administration.
President Lee, who took office on June 4, has pledged to push the KOSPI toward a 5,000-point era and address the "Korea discount," a long-standing tendency for investors to undervalue South Korean assets due to geopolitical risks or other systemic issues.
Specific sectors saw strong gains, particularly semiconductor, information technology, and battery shares.
Samsung Electronics edged up 0.51 percent to 59,500 won, while its rival chipmaker SK hynix jumped 4.47 percent to 257,000 won. South Korea's largest search engine, Naver, soared 6.94 percent to 269,500 won, and Kakao, the operator of the nation's dominant mobile messenger, rallied 10.26 percent to 66,600 won.
In currency markets, the local won was quoted at 1,365.6 won against the U.S. dollar at 3:30 p.m., a sharp appreciation of 14.6 won from the previous session's close.
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