By Park Hyong-ki
Staff Reporter
For some summer vacation means total relaxation _ no business, no fuss. But others will allow themselves to keep an eye on stock market trends during their getaways _ or so said seven in 10 retail investors.
Citing a survey of 2,269 individual investors, Paxnet, an online stock information provider, said that about 66 percent replied that they would trade stocks or check prices frequently during their summer vacations. The firm conducted the survey last week.
Twenty-nine percent said they would definitely engage in trading, while 34 percent would forget all about the market.
Of those who said they would buy and sell stocks, almost half said they would do so by wireless communication devices such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and laptop computers.
The remaining noted that they would take the time off to visit local ``PC Bang,'' or Internet Cafe near vacation destinations or read daily news about the stock market action.
Mindful of this, an increasing number of brokerage houses are going full-fledged to offer wireless services for customers to check on the market anywhere and anytime while away for vacationing at half the usual price of trading online.
Companies such as Samsung Securities and Hyundai Securities have begun providing such mobile ``interactive'' services through cell phones, while Woori Investment & Securities will offer exclusive services on stock trading to customers with PDAs.
Since the beginning of June, an average of 5,000 people a month have been using mobile devices for stock trading.
In a separate survey of 3,247 from July 20-25 by Paxnet, 72 percent said they would keep their shares while going on vacation, while the remainder plans to sell off their shares before they go.
The stock market has been growing 30 percent on average since May, the fastest among emerging economies, riding on positive outlooks for the economy and corporate earnings, according to Good Morning Shinhan Securities.
Korean stock prices have climbed 40 percent since January, second fastest after China.