SEOUL, Jan. 20 (Korea Bizwire) – The recent rally in the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) was largely uneven, with a few large-cap stocks dominating, data showed Tuesday. The KOSPI Large Cap Index jumped 18.27 percent since Dec. 30, the last trading day of 2025, as of Monday, according to the data from [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 20 (Korea Bizwire) – The chief of the country’s financial watchdog said Tuesday that his agency will look into risks related to private equity funds (PEFs), highlighting that illegal and unfair practices by some PEF operators may seriously undermine market principles. In a meeting with the heads of a dozen PEFs here, Lee [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 19 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI surged nearly 15 percent in early January, but the gains were unevenly distributed, with industrial and capital-intensive sectors leading the rally while consumer-related stocks lagged behind. According to data from the Korea Exchange, the transport equipment and auto parts sector posted the strongest performance between Jan. [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 16 (Korea Bizwire) — Many travelers returning from overseas try to spend their leftover foreign coins at airports or shops before coming home, assuming they cannot be exchanged in South Korea. Coins are heavy, inconvenient to carry, and often believed to be unusable domestically. But while less common and less lucrative than banknote exchanges, [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s central bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged Thursday, signaling caution as a weakening currency and persistent inflation risks narrowed the scope for further monetary easing. The Monetary Policy Board of the Bank of Korea voted unanimously to hold the policy rate at 2.5 percent, extending a pause [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s retail investors are increasingly positioning themselves against rising oil prices and a surging stock market, even as geopolitical tensions and earnings momentum continue to push both higher. Data from the Korea Exchange show that individual investors have poured money this month into inverse exchange-traded notes and funds tied [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — Household lending by South Korean banks declined in December for the first time in nearly a year, signaling the early impact of tighter government controls aimed at cooling an overheated housing market in the Seoul metropolitan area. Outstanding household loans at banks totaled 1,173.6 trillion won ($795 billion) at the [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 13 (Korea Bizwire) – A majority of affluent retail investors in South Korea expect stock markets at home and abroad to extend their gains this year, with artificial intelligence and robotics emerging as the most favored investment themes, according to a new survey by Mirae Asset Securities. In a poll conducted by the [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 13 (Korea Bizwire) – The Korea Exchange (KRX) has submitted plans to extend stock trading hours to nearly 12 hours from as early as June and is preparing to gather opinions from its members, industry sources said Tuesday. Under the plan submitted to the Financial Service Commission (FSC) on Monday, the KRX seeks [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 13 (Korea Bizwire) – The country’s financial regulator said Tuesday that local insurers will have to maintain an enhanced capital ratio requirement starting in 2027, a move to beef up their capital quality. Under the measures unveiled by the Financial Services Commission (FSC), the ratio of core capital to required capital will be [...]