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Lee Kyung-min

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Economy

Seoul stocks withstand Middle East crisis

The Korean stock market was able to surge close to 3,000 points, buoyed by strong buying from the institutional and retail investors despite the Israel-Iran military conflict over the weekend, market watchers said Tuesday. Many say months of Middle East tensions have already been priced in, with the latest airstrike unlikely to escalate into a full-blown war due to mediation efforts by the U.S. and Europe. Also at play is the "honeymoon rally" under the new Lee Jae-myung administration. Investor sentiment remains robust, as evidenced by the sustained post-election surge in the equity market, coupled with eased political uncertainties since former President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law briefly in December last year. Further fueling optimism are Lee’s policy drives, including social overhead capital investments and assistance for the chipmaking industry. Analysts say the benchmark index will top 3,100 points in the latter half of this year, underpinned by a rebound in corporate earnings and favorable liquidity conditions. According to the Korea Exchange, the KOSPI soared to an intra

Jun 17, 2025By Lee Kyung-min
Seoul stocks withstand Middle East crisis
Economy

Economic confidence hits 11-yr high on bullish stock market, extra budget anticipations

The country’s economic confidence has surged to the highest level in 11 months, buoyed by expectations of a sustained rally in the benchmark KOSPI, coupled with the second extra budget of about 20 trillion won ($14.7 billion), central bank data showed Tuesday. Further advancing the optimism are improved growth and equity market outlooks for Korea as assessed by many global investment banks and research bodies, amid significantly reduced political uncertainties. According to the Bank of Korea, its News Sentiment Index came to 108.43, slightly down from 109.05 the previous day, which had been the highest since July last year. It was a notable recovery from 77.08 on Dec. 10 last year, when the country was reeling from former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s short-lived martial law declaration. The previous comparable figure of 77.02 was recorded in December 2022 in the midst of the nationwide truckers’ strike. An above-100 reading means optimists outnumber pessimists, reflecting a more positive economic sentiment compared to the historical long-term average. The central bank’s political unce

Jun 17, 2025By Lee Kyung-min
Economic confidence hits 11-yr high on bullish stock market, extra budget anticipations
Economy

Samsung Electronics’ market cap falls to 9-year low

The market capitalization of Samsung Electronics has continued to fall over two consecutive trading sessions, weighed down by concerns over weakened competitiveness in the artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductor industry, market watchers said Monday. Analysts say the leading tech share is unlikely to regain upward momentum, unless its high-bandwidth memory (HBM) supply sees a breakthrough or it receives large foundry orders. According to the Korea Exchange, Samsung Electronics’ market cap slid to a nine-year low of 345.1 trillion won ($252 billion) on Friday, accounting for about 14 percent of the total KOSPI market cap of over 2,369 trillion won. The share’s market cap ended at 338.6 trillion won Monday. Monday’s development followed a sharp market correction on Friday, when the KOSPI index dropped to 2,894.62, alarmed by heightened geopolitical tensions from the Israel-Iran military conflict. The share price fell over 2 percent, adding to the downtrend in the KOSPI index. Meanwhile, Samsung’s top competitor SK hynix continues surging, accounting for nearly half of Samsung's m

Jun 16, 2025By Lee Kyung-min
Samsung Electronics’ market cap falls to 9-year low
Economy

Authorities strengthen foreign property buying regulations to curb Seoul apartment prices

The government is strengthening property purchase regulations in response to an increase in foreign-bought apartments in Seoul, according to market watchers, Monday. Sources of funding will come under intense scrutiny, along with verification that listed homeowners actually live in the properties in tightly regulated areas. These are two of the most common irregularities involving foreign buyers suspected of skirting domestic borrowing rules, and a source of criticism among Korean would-be homebuyers who are subject to heavy regulations. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, comprehensive monitoring and regulatory guidelines will be outlined to rein in foreign home property trading. This followed Mayor Oh Se-hoon’s order early this month to look into the status of foreign real estate holdings. "The recent unusual sharp rise in property prices is a cause for concern for Seoul citizens,” he said during a meeting with city council June 11. “We believe foreign property buying is at play. A collaboration between the Seoul government and the land ministry will review whether stri

Jun 16, 2025By Lee Kyung-min
Authorities strengthen foreign property buying regulations to curb Seoul apartment prices
Economy

Banks expand cooperation with fintech firms, retailers for survival

A growing number of commercial lenders are strengthening partnerships with fintech firms and logistics firms in a bid to identify new revenue streams, aided by the new tech industry players’ tailored services, market watchers said Thursday. Also contributing to the appeal are reduced funding costs for the lenders, since low-cost deposits are far cheaper than issuing bonds or rolling out high-interest promotional savings accounts. Many say the new trend will redefine partnership dynamics in the financial industry, long dominated by the view that fintechs and commercial lenders will remain in competition in a rapidly saturating market. According to the financial industry, NH NongHyup Bank recently signed an agreement with Naver Pay, the payment subsidiary of the country’s largest web portal Naver, to create a payment system where customers will be able to use their points or mileages interchangeably. The bank subsidiary of the NongHyup Financial Group seeks market expansion, underpinned by the Naver subsidiary’s 34 million users. The system, set for launch this month, is the latest d

Jun 13, 2025By Lee Kyung-min
Banks expand cooperation with fintech firms, retailers for survival
Economy

BOK head cautious over speedy rate cut

A sharp, speedy key rate cut could cause a spike in property prices in the Seoul metropolitan area, according to the head of the country's central bank, stressing that Korea should reduce dependence on monetary easing and extra budgets as a way to stimulate economic growth. The decades of resorting to property market investment as an easy, short-term economic growth booster should no longer be tolerated, Bank of Korea (BOK) Gov. Rhee Chang-yong said Thursday. Rhee also said the recent strength of the Korean currency relative to the dollar is a positive development. However, a delay in easing by the U.S. Federal Reserve could lead to a wider rate differential between the two countries, with volatility lingering in the foreign exchange market, influenced by tariff uncertainties surrounding key trade partners. “The slew of factors warrants a steady, more calibrated monetary approach, despite the dimming economic outlook for this year,” Rhee said during a speech marking the central bank’s 75th anniversary. "We are in an easing cycle, but our dovish stance will be determined by the clo

Jun 12, 2025By Lee Kyung-min
BOK head cautious over speedy rate cut
Economy

Financial group shares soar amid Lee’s drive to protect minority shareholders

Shares of the country’s leading financial groups are extending their weeks of rally, buoyed by President Lee Jae-myung’s pledge to strengthen minority shareholder rights and enhance corporate values, market watchers said Tuesday. The two are part of an overarching drive, best encapsulated by the revision to the Commercial Act, one of Lee’s major campaign pledges. The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) is fully backing the move. The DPK-majority National Assembly is expected to pass the long-stalled, politically divisive revision during a plenary session as early as Thursday. According to financial market data, Korea’s four leading financial firms surged as much as 10 percent last week alone. KB led the rally with a gain of over 9 percent. Shinhan, Hana and Woori gained about 6 percent each. KB hit an intraday high of 114,800 won ($84), Tuesday. Woori, Shinhan and Hana also registered intraday highs of 21,100 won, 60,500 won and 80,800 won, respectively. Market consensus is that the shares are set for further gains. Global investors and asset managers, including Aberdeen Investm

Jun 10, 2025By Lee Kyung-min
Financial group shares soar amid Lee’s drive to protect minority shareholders
Economy

BOK rushes to put brakes on won-based stablecoin drive

Bank of Korea (BOK) is rushing to underscore financial stability risks associated with private sector-led won-based stablecoins, alarmed by growing market expectations over the early, full adoption of the long-stalled, controversial initiative, market watchers said Tuesday. Underpinning the BOK pushback is growing calls for significant lowering of entry barriers for coin issuers to fortify the Korean currency’s competitive edge, amid global popularity of U.S. dollar-based stablecoins. The implementation of private sector-led won-based stablecoins was one of the major campaign pledges from President Lee Jae-myung, a drive that gained further traction after the recent addition of Kim Yong-beom as the top presidential economic policy adviser. Kim, who was formerly CEO of Hashed Open Research, a private blockchain, Web3 and crypto think tank, is a vocal advocate for the prompt institutionalization of private won-based stablecoins. He also previously served as vice finance minister and vice chairman of the Financial Services Commission. He said in a report published two weeks ago that not o

Jun 10, 2025By Lee Kyung-min
BOK rushes to put brakes on won-based stablecoin drive
Economy

6 in 10 Koreans seek to hold more digital assets: KCCI survey

About six in 10 Koreans are ready to boost their investments in digital assets, buoyed by a government drive to transform the country into a cryptocurrencies and blockchain innovation leader, a survey showed Monday. According to the survey by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), more than 57 percent of 2,259 respondents said they plan to increase their investments in digital assets. About 27 percent said they would maintain their current holdings, while just 14.5 percent said they would reduce their digital assets. Among those looking to invest more, 28 percent cited enhanced legal and institutional frameworks as reason for optimism. Other positive factors included the U.S. government’s pro-crypto stance (22.6 percent), delays in taxing digital assets (20.4 percent), weak returns from non-crypto investments (17.5 percent) and a lack of alternative investment opportunities (10.4 percent. Nearly 80 percent said reinvigorating the cryptocurrency and digital asset markets will have a positive impact on the Korean economy. More than a quarter said the crypto industry will foste

Jun 9, 2025By Lee Kyung-min
6 in 10 Koreans seek to hold more digital assets: KCCI survey
Economy

Foreign investors go on buying spree for Samsung Electronics, SK hynix

Shares of Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are rallying on President Lee Jae-myung’s policy drive to help enhance the competitiveness of the two Korean chipmakers, as he vows to push for a special law that will grant greater subsidies and tax incentives to the industry, market analysts said Monday. Also advancing investor optimism is their technological prowess and chip unit price uptick, driven by growing artificial intelligence (AI) product demand. Analysts say the two firms’ low price-to-book (PBR) ratios indicate limited possibility of price downtrends, stressing that the undervalued shares are set for further gains in the months to come. “Both stocks will gain through the second half of this year,” said Park Yoo-ak, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities. “The chipmakers will be subject to lingering macro uncertainties, but their technical edge will generate robust outcomes to bolster the share prices.” Samsung is showing improved efficient outputs in its dynamic random-access memory (DRAM), as evidenced by declines in defective output. DRAM is a type of random access memory (RA

Jun 9, 2025By Lee Kyung-min
Foreign investors go on buying spree for Samsung Electronics, SK hynix
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