Kospi rally hits pause, but experts see rebound ahead

The Kospi has lost momentum after a blistering first-half rally, fueling fears that the semiconductor cycle is nearing its peak and casting doubt over the market’s next move. The benchmark has remained range-bound in recent months, and weakening conviction in chip heavyweights Samsung Electronics and SK hynix keeps it from recapturing its earlier highs. Does this retreat mark a pause before another advance or will it be the beginning of a prolonged stall? For its 73rd anniversary special edition

2026-08-14 09:00:00:00

SK Shipping to become Asia’s largest LNG carrier in trillion-won fleet swap

SK Shipping will become Asia’s largest LNG carrier operator and rebrand as K-LNG through a trillion-won fleet reshuffle orchestrated by private equity owner Hahn & Co.. The company will acquire 16 liquefied natural gas carriers from sister company H-Line Shipping in exchange for 12 oil tankers and approximately $300 million in cash, Hahn & Co. said Thursday. The deal will give SK Shipping a fleet of 32 LNG carriers, placing it among the world’s three largest LNG shipping companies, according to

2026-08-13 10:41:03:00

TPG to buy Lotte Rental in W1.3tr deal

Lotte signed an agreement to sell its controlling stake in Lotte Rental, the operator of the country's top car rental brand Lotte Rent-a-Car, at 1.31 trillion won ($926 million) to US-based private equity firm TPG, the group announced Tuesday. The deal covers the entire 61.2 percent stake held by Hotel Lotte and Busan Lotte Hotel — 38.1 percent and 23.0 percent, respectively — at 59,000 won per share. Lotte said it selected TPG as the final buyer based on enterprise value, deal structure, employ

2026-08-12 15:10:16:00

July rate hike was no one-off, BOK deputy governor says

The Bank of Korea should keep raising interest rates after its first hike in more than three years, as strong growth and persistent inflation outweigh recent stabilization in the won and stock market, a senior central bank official said Tuesday. "Looking ahead, growth is expected to remain solid on the back of unprecedented income growth, while underlying inflationary pressures persist and financial stability risks could increase," BOK Senior Deputy Gov. Ryoo Sang-dai said at a press conference

2026-08-11 15:03:19:00

Won nears 1,400 after sharpest swings since financial crisis

The South Korean won is on its way to breaking past the 1,400-per-dollar mark after weakening to 1,550 in just over a month, underscoring the currency’s sharpest volatility since the global financial crisis. During trading late last week, the won strengthened to 1,407.3 per dollar, the strongest level recorded against the US currency since Oct. 2, 2025, when the won stood at 1,399.5. If the currency strengthens by roughly 10 won, the exchange rate will be pushed into the 1,300-won range for the

2026-08-10 15:05:18:00

Investors unlikely to go 'all-in' even if Kospi rally resumes: Bloomberg analyst

South Korean investors are unlikely to repeat excessive leverage use after experiencing a severe unwinding of leveraged positions — even if the benchmark Kospi resumes its rally, a Bloomberg Intelligence analyst said. Rena Kwok, a senior credit analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, projected leveraging would not be as "severe" as the first half of this year, even if the market regains its upward momentum, in a recent online interview with The Korea Herald. "Some investors were overly bullish and to

2026-08-09 15:01:28:00

Korea’s ETF curbs push leveraged trading overseas

South Korean investors are moving into US leveraged ETFs after tighter domestic rules pushed them away, raising questions over whether efforts to curb speculative trading are shifting risk-taking activity overseas. Trading in locally listed single-stock leveraged and inverse ETFs plunged following financial regulators' introduction of tighter measures on single-stock leveraged ETFs, according to data from the Korea Exchange. The combined trading value of the 16 single-stock leveraged and inverse

2026-08-06 15:08:47:00

Lotte Card, Osstem controversies deepen scrutiny of MBK

MBK Partners is facing growing scrutiny over its management of portfolio companies, as controversies spread from Homeplus’ court-led rehabilitation to a business suspension at Lotte Card and workforce restructuring at Osstem Implant. Critics say the incidents raise questions about governance and internal controls at MBK-controlled businesses, as well as whether cost-cutting and investment recovery are being prioritized over long-term corporate value. The Financial Services Commission on Friday f

2026-08-05 11:20:51:00

US-Japan yen intervention raises hopes for stronger won

A rare US-Japan intervention to support the battered yen is giving the Korean won a renewed tailwind, raising hopes that the currency could return to the 1,300-won-per-dollar range. Policymakers confirmed Monday that the US Treasury bought yen in coordination with Japan’s Finance Ministry, marking the first joint intervention to support the Japanese currency since 1998. The move quickly spilled over into the won, which investors often trade as a proxy for the yen because the two currencies tend

2026-08-04 15:03:47:00

How leveraged chip ETFs magnified Korea’s market swings

Earlier this year, South Korea emerged as the world's best-performing stock market as an artificial intelligence-driven memory chip boom propelled the country's top chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK hynix to record highs. The chip rally, however, quickly unraveled as investors grew concerned that Big Tech companies would scale back AI infrastructure spending. The two chip giants have since fallen more than 30 percent from their peaks, dragging down the benchmark Kospi. Yet what stood out was

2026-07-29 14:49:01:00