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5 securities firms slapped with $2.1 mil. fine over mis-selling of HK-tied derivatives

Five securities firms have been slapped a combined 3 billion won ($2.1 million) in penalties over their mis-selling of equity-linked securities (ELS) products tracking Hong Kong's H Index, the financial watchdog said Sunday. Under the measure, KB Securities was imposed a 1.7 trillion won fine last month over violating a recording procedure and failing to notify investment risk to customers, according to a regulatory filing by the Financial Supervisory Service. NH Investment & Securities, Mirae Asset Securities, Korea Investment & Securities and Samsung Securities were also fined over similar charges. ELS refers to hybrid securities whose returns are linked to the performance of underlying equities, including a stock index. In early 2024, HK-tied ELS buyers suffered massive losses as Hong Kong's H index plunged.

Feb 1, 2026By Yonhap
5 securities firms slapped with $2.1 mil. fine over mis-selling of HK-tied derivatives

Top financial groups accelerate regional expansion in line with government policy

Korea’s major financial holding groups are speeding up regional expansion, as the government pushes ahead with its balanced growth initiative defined as “five growth poles, three special zones,” market watchers said Sunday. The drive seeks to establish key regional hubs, in a shift from decades of Seoul-centric growth to a more sustainable model. Central to the approach is to bring core subsidiaries, capital-market functions and professionals, as a financial foundation to local economies and industries. According to financial market sources, KB Financial Group plans to establish a “KB financial town” in Jeonbuk Innovation City in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province. Its banking, securities, insurance and asset management operations will be housed there, and around 100 employees will be dispatched there in addition to the 150 already working there. The group plans to transform the site into a strategic hub supporting the National Pension Service, the country’s public pension fund headquartered nearby. The plan is expected to boost job creation and local infrastructure advancements. Shi

Feb 1, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Top financial groups accelerate regional expansion in line with government policy

Korea's US FX monitoring list status has limited market impact

The U.S. government’s decision to keep Korea on its foreign exchange monitoring list is unlikely to have a significant immediate impact on the exchange rate, market analysts said Friday. Still, as both the U.S. and Korean governments continue to signal that the Korean won’s recent depreciation against the U.S. dollar is "excessive," expectations are growing that upward pressure on the local currency could build. Earlier in the day, the U.S. Treasury Department kept Seoul on its list of countries monitored for their foreign exchange policies, releasing the updated list in its semiannual "Report to Congress on Macroeconomic and Foreign Exchange Policies of Major Trading Partners of the United States." Korea was taken off the list in November 2023 for the first time in more than seven years, but was reinstated beginning in November 2024, ahead of the inauguration of the Donald Trump administration. “In support of President Trump’s America First trade policy, starting with this report, Treasury is strengthening its analysis of trading partners’ currency policies and practices,” T

Jan 30, 2026By Jun Ji-hye
Korea's US FX monitoring list status has limited market impact

Investors aged 70 and older achieve highest stock market returns

Retail investors aged 70 and older recorded the highest returns among all age groups in the Korean stock market, benefiting from relatively larger funds to invest and gaining more as the rally accelerated, data showed Thursday. The data, compiled by Mirae Asset Securities, showed that this age group posted gains roughly twice as high as those of investors in their 20s and 30s, who are still early in their careers and building wealth. The analysis covered 2.4 million customers with a minimum principal of 1 million won ($701) from Jan. 1, 2025 to Jan. 19 this year. During this period, the benchmark KOSPI rose at the steepest pace among global indices, surpassing 5,000 points, while the secondary bourse Kosdaq also accelerated, breaking the 1,000-point mark for the first time in more than four years. Among all age groups, investors aged 70 and older achieved an average return of 58.8 percent, followed by those in their 60s at 50.1 percent. Underage investors, including teens, earned 47.7 percent, while those in their 50s recorded 47 percent, investors in their 40s 41.7 percent, and those in

Jan 30, 2026By Yi Whan-woo
Investors aged 70 and older achieve highest stock market returns

Rising gold prices fuel surge in jewelry store robberies across Korea

Thefts at jewelry stores are on the rise amid gold’s record-breaking rally, market watchers said Thursday. International gold prices recently surpassed $5,300 (7.5 million won) per ounce for the first time, driven by weakening confidence in U.S. dollar assets amid geopolitical tensions and recent remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump advocating a weaker dollar. Police reports of attempted gold thefts have risen sharply. The suspects tried to quickly convert the stolen items into cash, police added. In Gwangju, police detained a teenager, Thursday, after he posed as a customer and stole a gold bracelet worth 30 million won from a jewelry store. Last Friday, police in Daejeon booked a teenage boy for allegedly stealing gold bracelets worth about 8 million won from a jewelry store. Authorities are deciding whether to seek an arrest warrant. This followed another case in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, Jan. 21, involving a middle school student who was detained for attempting to sell jewelry using a forged ID card. Apart from teenagers, adults have also been involved. Last Friday, a man in his 30

Jan 29, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Rising gold prices fuel surge in jewelry store robberies across Korea

Retail investors welcome gov’t plan for single-item leveraged ETFs amid semiconductor boom

Kim Moo-jin, an office worker in his 30s, said he was glad to hear news reports about the government plan to introduce leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tracking Korea’s leading listed companies, including major semiconductor manufacturers. “This will change how I invest,” he said. “Shares of SK hynix and Samsung Electronics are flying. Artificial Intelligence demand will continue to explode, and now I can make money more safely.” He added that many of his friends had turned to margin loans, only to face margin calls from brokerages and ultimately see their assets forcibly liquidated. “Many of my friends have taken out loans against their stocks from the brokerages. I have seen some of them making money fast. But I have also seen others losing all of their holdings just as fast," Kim said. A margin loan refers to borrowing money from a brokerage using existing shares as collateral. A margin call occurs when a brokerage demands additional funds or securities after share prices fall. If investors fail to meet those calls, brokerages can liquidate the shares in the account,

Jan 29, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Retail investors welcome gov’t plan for single-item leveraged ETFs amid semiconductor boom

Mirae Asset becomes Korea's 1st financial firm to issue digital bonds

Mirae Asset Securities has become the first financial company in Korea to issue digital bonds as it seeks to address the blurring boundaries of finance extending into the virtual domain, the company said Thursday. The bonds are worth 100 billion won ($70.1 million), raised through a simultaneous issuance of $30 million and 325 million Hong Kong dollars ($41.65 million). Mirae Asset Securities described the transaction as “more than a simple fundraising exercise,” adding that it is a step toward “Mirae Asset 3.0” strategy aimed at building an advanced digital financial ecosystem encompassing both traditional and digital assets. The strategy centers on integrating artificial intelligence (AI) and Web3 technologies, which are associated with a decentralized, user-centric internet built on blockchain, enabling ownership of data and assets without intermediaries. “The successful issuance represents a new model of borderless capital mobilization made possible with digital technology,” the company said. It said the event marks an important milestone, showing that Korea’s financial

Jan 29, 2026By Yi Whan-woo
Mirae Asset becomes Korea's 1st financial firm to issue digital bonds

Korea’s WGBI inclusion shows investor confidence in local capital market: PIMCO

Pacific Investment Management Company (PIMCO) said Wednesday that Korea’s inclusion in the World Government Bond Index (WGBI) in April reflects investor confidence in the Korean capital market. “When it comes to Korea Treasury Bonds, we find the Korean local market somewhat attractive, similarly to some other markets across the region, across our emerging market portfolios and global portfolios. We have some exposure, so we find it attractive as a sector,” said PIMCO Managing Director and Group Chief Investment Officer (CIO) Dan Ivascyn during a presser at the Conrad Hotel in Seoul. Further advancing the optimism are stable policy rates and relatively stable inflation rates, he added. “We think it's a reasonably attractive market. Of course, we are very committed to Korea. The recent equity market performance has been very, very strong. We also expect some stability in the Korean currency won as well, relative to the weakness that we've seen more recently," he said. The CIO added that investors should implement a more defensive strategy since volatility will heighten in the comin

Jan 28, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Korea’s WGBI inclusion shows investor confidence in local capital market: PIMCO

Retail investors betting against Kosdaq rally see losses amid continued bull market

Retail investors who had bet on a sharp correction in the country’s Kosdaq market are suffering growing losses as the tech-heavy index broke above 1,000 points for the first time, market watchers said Wednesday. This mirrors a recent retail investor misstep concerning the country's benchmark KOSPI. When the index exceeded the historic 5,000 level last week, some investors increased holdings of leveraged inverse products, expecting a bearish development. The benchmark, however, has since topped 5,100 points. Inverse products are financial instruments designed to move in the opposite direction of a specific index or assets. According to the Korea Exchange (KRX), retail investors net sold 159.8 billion won ($111 million) worth of leveraged Kosdaq exchange-traded funds (ETFs) from Jan. 1 to 22. They instead net bought 15 billion won of inverse ETFs over the same period. Foreign and institutional investors made the opposite move. Over the same period, they net bought leveraged Kosdaq ETFs worth 3.3 billion won and 154.4 billion won, respectively. They sold off inverse products worth 300 mill

Jan 28, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Retail investors betting against Kosdaq rally see losses amid continued bull market

High gold price prompts companies to honor employees with cash instead

Soaring gold prices are prompting companies to replace gold with cash in corporate awards that honor long-serving or outstanding employees, industry officials said Wednesday. This month, the purchase price of gold surged past the key threshold of 1 million won ($702) per don, a traditional Korean unit equal to 3.75 grams, amid heightened economic risks and growing global demand for the precious metal as a safe haven asset. The price has nearly doubled compared to the start of 2025, when it was 533,000 won per don. GC Biopharma, a pharmaceutical company, recently announced that it will honor long-serving employees with cash, in what is seen as a bid to reduce costs. Previously, the company’s employees received gold measured in don, with awards corresponding to 10, 20, 30, and 40 years of service. Starting this year, GC Biopharma plans to provide cash prizes of 5 million won, 10 million won, 15 million won and 20 million won for these milestones. Seegene, a molecular diagnostics company, also announced they were switching awards from gold to cash. For every five years of service, the compan

Jan 28, 2026By Yi Whan-woo
High gold price prompts companies to honor employees with cash instead
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