my timesThe Korea Times
yanu

Lee Yeon-woo

Korea Times Finance Reporter

Lee Yeon-woo is a financial journalist at The Korea Times. Her wide range of reporting includes policies, macroeconomics, stock market, companies and even crypto. She is passionate about connecting the dots in Korean finance and making it easier for foreign nationals to understand. Based on her previous experience as a national reporter, she also has a keen interest in social issues within the sector, including gender equality and ESG. Your tips and insights are always appreciated. You can send them to yanu@koreatimes.co.kr.

Go to EmailGo to URL

Read more

Economy

Korea's ETF market overtakes Kosdaq for 1st time

The domestic exchange-traded fund (ETF) market overtook the Kosdaq in market capitalization for the first time last week, data showed Sunday, ahead of the Kosdaq's 30th anniversary in July. The ETF market has grown rapidly this year, driven by increased participation from retail investors and strong interest in artificial intelligence-themed investments, while the Kosdaq has declined amid broad weakness in the index. According to the Korea Exchange, total net assets of domestic ETFs stood at 519.75 trillion won ($337.94 billion) as of Thursday, exceeding the Kosdaq’s market capitalization of 499.3 trillion won. Although Friday’s total net asset figure has yet to be finalized, industry officials estimate that ETF net assets continued to outpace the Kosdaq through Friday. It marked the first time that the domestic ETF market's net assets exceeded the Kosdaq's market capitalization since the first ETF was launched in Korea in December 2002. The two markets first reversed positions on Tuesday. A day later, the Kosdaq briefly moved back ahead, but ETFs regained the lead on Thursday. The g

Jun 29, 2026By Lee Yeon-woo
Korea's ETF market overtakes Kosdaq for 1st time
Economy

Will Samsung join ADR wave among Asian chipmakers?

Samsung Electronics could become the next major Asian chipmaker to consider an American depositary receipt (ADR) listing, analysts said Sunday, as rivals seek greater access to U.S. investors amid the capital-intensive race in AI memory. ADRs allow U.S. investors to gain exposure to foreign companies without those companies directly listing their ordinary shares on a U.S. exchange. They could broaden Samsung's global investor base, increase its visibility among U.S. institutions and potentially pave the way for inclusion in global exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and benchmark indices. "Given the company's current undervaluation and favorable market conditions, the ADR scenario cannot be ruled out," said Kim Dong-won, head of research at KB Securities. "It is viewed as a strong capital policy option to improve access for global investors, and related discussions are expected to gain momentum." Analysts point to TSMC as an example of how ADRs can expand a chipmaker's international investor base. TSMC is held by 9,994 global funds through its ordinary shares, compared with 12,748 for SK hynix

Jun 28, 2026By Lee Yeon-woo
Will Samsung join ADR wave among Asian chipmakers?
Companies

Travel Wallet gears up for Kosdaq listing amid global expansion

Travel Wallet, a digital wallet platform operator in Korea, is gearing up for an initial public offering after selecting NH Investment & Securities and KB Securities as its lead underwriters, according to company officials, Thursday. The firm targets a Kosdaq listing in 2027. Travel Wallet is a fintech company that provides app-based foreign currency top-up and overseas payment services. Users can load the foreign currency of their choice in real time through the app and make payments with the card at online and offline merchants overseas. The company currently supports foreign currency top-ups and payments in 46 currencies. As of June 2026, it had issued more than 9.6 million cards and surpassed 9.8 trillion won ($6.3 billion) in cumulative transaction volume. The company has been expanding into the global digital wallet business, building on its domestic operational experience. In April, it launched service in Japan, marking the start of its global digital wallet business for users in overseas markets., the company said. It is also focusing on expanding its business-to-business payment

Jun 25, 2026By Lee Yeon-woo
Travel Wallet gears up for Kosdaq listing amid global expansion
Business

HD Hyundai, LS, SK hit pause on IPO plans as Korea delays dual-listing rules

Delayed government guidelines on dual listings are forcing major Korean conglomerates, including HD Hyundai, LS and SK, to shelve or reassess subsidiary initial public offering (IPO) plans, raising concerns that regulatory uncertainty is cooling the country's listing market, industry officials said Thursday. Among the companies affected is HD Hyundai Robotics, a major IPO candidate whose listing plans have been thrown into uncertainty. The company suspended working-level preparations for its listing in February. HD Hyundai, which owns an 81.82 percent stake in the robotics unit, had been preparing the IPO, saying it was necessary to support the stable growth of its robotics business, which requires continued large-scale investment. The halt came as guidelines on dual-listing regulations, originally expected to be released earlier this month, remain in limbo, with no fixed announcement date. A dual listing refers to a case in which a listed parent company spins off and lists a profitable business unit, or lists an unlisted subsidiary. Because the subsidiary's value is usually already ref

Jun 25, 2026By Lee Yeon-woo
HD Hyundai, LS, SK hit pause on IPO plans as Korea delays dual-listing rules
Economy

KOSPI rebounds from sharp sell-off on Samsung buyback hopes

Korea's benchmark stock index jumped more than 3 percent Wednesday, clawing back some of the previous session's 10 percent plunge, as bargain-hunting and hopes for a major Samsung Electronics buyback lifted investor sentiment. According to the Korea Exchange, the KOSPI closed at 8,471.02, up 3.26 percent from the previous session when it plunged nearly 10 percent. It climbed as high as 8,577.52 during the session, but turned lower in the afternoon and briefly fell to 8,080.99. It later resumed its upward trend and closed higher. Despite weakness in U.S. semiconductor stocks, investor sentiment was boosted by news that Samsung Electronics is close to announcing a 90 trillion won ($58.2 billion) share buyback. Its shares rose 9.84 percent to close at 340,500 won, reclaiming the top spot by market capitalization. SK hynix also rose 0.98 percent to close at 2,580,000 won, but failed to close the gap with Samsung Electronics. Market laggards also advanced, supported by bargain-hunting. The pharmaceutical and biotech sector rebounded on expectations surrounding the 2026 BIO International Conve

Jun 24, 2026By Lee Yeon-woo
KOSPI rebounds from sharp sell-off on Samsung buyback hopes
Economy

MSCI keeps Korea off developed market watchlist, but global analysts stay bullish

MSCI's decision to keep Korea off its watchlist for potential inclusion in the Developed Market Index has pushed back expectations for index-driven inflows, but analysts say the setback does little to weaken investors' constructive view of the country's stock market, which remains underpinned by artificial intelligence (AI)-related momentum. Wee Khoon Chong, APAC macro strategist at BNY, noted that the Korean stock market is in a favorable position thanks to AI-related growth momentum, even without inclusion in the Developed Market Index. "Inclusion in the MSCI Developed Market Index would be welcomed, bringing additional passive inflows, but a status quo MSCI decision would not change investors' constructive investment thesis on South Korea," he added. Korea was not added to MSCI's Developed Market Index watchlist in its 2026 market classification review, announced Wednesday. MSCI noted that underlying issues raised by global investors "have not been fully resolved." Korea was first included in the Emerging Markets Index in 1992 and was placed on MSCI's watchlist for potential inclusion

Jun 24, 2026By Lee Yeon-woo
MSCI keeps Korea off developed market watchlist, but global analysts stay bullish
Business

Samsung Electronics, SK hynix to benefit further from AI memory bottleneck

Memory chips remain the key bottleneck in the artificial intelligence (AI) supply chain, with Samsung Electronics and SK hynix still positioned as strong beneficiaries of the cycle, Sanjeev Rana, head of Korea research at CLSA, said Tuesday. During a press briefing on the sidelines of the CITIC CLSA Northeast Asia Forum held at Conrad Seoul, Rana noted that over the past 10 years, memory chips’ contribution to semiconductor industry revenue has jumped from 28 percent to 52 percent. “It’s all driven by global AI infrastructure spending. Companies are looking to expand capacity across foundry, advanced packaging, production equipment, interconnects and other areas,” Rana said. “But these bottlenecks are still likely to persist for the next several years and are unlikely to go away anytime soon.” According to CLSA, global semiconductor industry revenue is expected to reach $2.5 trillion by 2030, up 80 percent year-on-year, with the majority — approximately $1.4 trillion — coming from the memory chip sector. Rana said that as AI models grow, limitations on memory bandwidth in

Jun 23, 2026By Lee Yeon-woo
Samsung Electronics, SK hynix to benefit further from AI memory bottleneck
Economy

How Korea can turn its chip boom into lasting strength

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been a bonanza for Korea's two chip giants, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. Yet the very boom that has lifted profits, exports and investment is also reviving an old anxiety: Korea remains heavily exposed to an industry whose fortunes can turn with brutal speed. Leif Eskesen, chief economist at CLSA, warned that Korea's reliance on semiconductors could prove to be a double-edged sword, urging the country to preserve its competitive edge in memory chips through continued investment and innovation while also cultivating new growth engines beyond the semiconductor sector. "It has been an important driver of growth in the past. It is an important driver of Korea's export and investment story, and it is one of the reasons why we think growth this year could come up in the neighborhood of 3 percent," Eskesen told The Korea Times in a recent interview. "However, when and if that sort of cycle turns, it will spill over through the export and the investment channel." Eskesen is visiting Korea to participate the CITIC CLSA's inaugural Northeast Asia Forum in Seo

Jun 23, 2026By Lee Yeon-woo
How Korea can turn its chip boom into lasting strength
Economy

KOSPI slips from record high amid US-Iran uncertainty

The KOSPI ended lower Friday after briefly topping 9,300 to set a fresh all-time high, as uncertainty over U.S.-Iran talks aimed at ending the conflict appeared to weigh on investor sentiment. According to the Korea Exchange, the benchmark index closed at 9,052.42, down 0.13 percent from the previous session, after rising as high as 9,385.59 in intraday trading. However, sentiment weakened in the afternoon after the White House announced that Vice President JD Vance’s planned visit to Switzerland for follow-up working-level talks on nuclear negotiations with Iran had been postponed. Profit-taking pressure and fatigue from the market’s rapid semiconductor-led rally also contributed to the day’s decline, analysts said. Volatility was high, with the gap between KOSPI’s intraday high and low exceeding 553 points. Foreign and institutional investors sold a net 388.4 billion won ($254.5 million) and 1.23 trillion won worth of shares, respectively. Retail investors, meanwhile, stepped in to provide support, net buying 1.68 trillion won. “The domestic stock market opened higher on the d

Jun 19, 2026By Lee Yeon-woo
KOSPI slips from record high amid US-Iran uncertainty
Policy

MSCI cites improved access to Korea-linked investment products ahead of review

Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) said Friday that the Korean financial market has improved in terms of the availability of investment instruments ahead of next week's annual market classification review, while noting that underlying accessibility issues remain unresolved. "Derivative products linked to Korean indexes have recently been listed on international exchanges," it wrote in its 2026 global market accessibility review, upgrading its assessment from minus to plus. A plus rating means there are no major issues, though there is still room for improvement. MSCI said some restrictions remain in Korea on the use of exchange data for the creation of financial products. The Korean market received minus ratings in six of the 18 assessment categories last year. But this year, as the availability of investment instruments category was upgraded to plus, the number of minus-rated categories fell to five: the foreign exchange market liberalization level, investor registration and account setup, information flow, clearing and settlement, and transferability. "Authorities have continu

Jun 19, 2026By Lee Yeon-woo
MSCI cites improved access to Korea-linked investment products ahead of review
previous page
1112131415
next page

Top 5 stories

Korea Times
About Us
Introduction
History
Contact Us
Products & Services
Subscribe
E-paper
RSS Service
Content Sales
Site Map
Policy
Code of Ethics
Ombudsman
Privacy Policy
Youth Protection Policy
Terms of Service
Copyright Policy
Family Site
Hankookilbo
Dongwha Group
FacebookXYoutubeInstagram
CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.