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| Korean fans cheer for the Korean national soccer squad for a match with Ghana during the ongoing FIFA World Cup at the Education City Stadium in Al-Rayyan, Qatar, Monday. Yonhap |
By Anna J. Park
Following a disappointing defeat of the Korean national soccer squad in a match with Ghana on Monday, the prices of chicken and alcohol stocks plunged during Tuesday's trading session, due in part to concerns that the public's enthusiasm in supporting Team Korea in the FIFA World Cup would run out of steam.
Jeju Beer fell by 9.92 percent, finishing at 1,725 won ($1.30) at Tuesday's close. At the start of the session, the price of the stock fell to as low as 1,690 won, which is more than a 10 percent fall from the previous session.
Tuesday's plunge in the beer stock price was a contrast from its earlier upward movement posted since late October this year. The stock price increased over 60 percent in a month from late October to late November, reflecting expectations of increased consumption of beer during the World Cup season. The stock particularly hiked by 19 percent on a single trading session of Nov. 21, reaching 2,350 won during the trading session. Compared to the price, Jeju Beer lost nearly 30 percent in just about week.
Kyochon F&B, which operates one of the major chicken brands in Korea, also saw its stock price fall by 5.38 percent on Tuesday, finishing at 10,550 won. The chicken company's shares moved in a similar pattern with Jeju Beer, showing a recent hike from late October to late November over seasonal expectations over the World Cup.
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| A local chicken delivery store in Seoul prepares food ahead of the Korean national football squad's match against Ghana on Monday evening. Yonhap |
Stock prices of companies that breed, process and distribute chicken, such as Maniker and Harim, also declined on Tuesday. Maniker stock price fell by 4.49 percent at Tuesday's closing, while Harim fell by 0.18 percent.
The stock price plunge of companies that run chicken or beer businesses during Tuesday's session shows the deep-rooted popularity of "chimaek" among locals here, when watching sport games. In Korea, chimaek, a combination of the words chicken and maekju ― meaning beer in Korean ― has been a long-time popular go-to snack for people watching sports events, notably soccer games.
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