KH Explains In series
Major issues broken down to the basics.
#Explained
# Issues
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KH Explains In series
Major issues broken down to the basics.
Would you like to subscribe?
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
July 29, 2026 - 14:49:01
Answers to your questions about Korea's digital nomad visa
Nearly a month has passed since South Korea officially launched its digital nomad visa, but confusion remains. Online communities are filled with questions from prospective applicants, many of whom say they received different answers from different government offices as guidelines have been updated over time. To clear up some of the confusion, The Korea Herald asked the Ministry of Justice and immigration experts to answer some of the most frequently asked questions. Only two things changed afte
July 29, 2026 - 14:16:18
Carlyle’s W1tr bet puts Korean water purifiers in spotlight
Carlyle’s 1 trillion won ($683 million) bet on Chungho Nais has put fresh attention on an unlikely Korean export success: subscription-based water purifiers. South Korea has spent decades turning water purification into a recurring-service business. Monthly rental fees, scheduled filter replacements and regular technician visits have made clean drinking water an ongoing service rather than a one-time appliance purchase. Now, with the domestic market nearing saturation, Korean purifier makers are
July 28, 2026 - 14:15:21
Why Korea faces another US tariff fight
South Korea is stepping up negotiations with Washington to prevent another rise in US tariffs as the Trump administration increasingly turns to Section 301 of the Trade Act to pursue targeted trade action. The US last week finalized tariffs of up to 12.5 percent on goods from Korea and dozens of other economies over their controls on imports made with forced labor. Seoul is also subject to a separate investigation into structural overcapacity that could lead to additional duties. Korean trade ex
July 27, 2026 - 15:12:15
History of Democratic Party's decadeslong prosecution reform
The ruling Democratic Party of Korea's push for the complete removal of the prosecution's investigative power is now in its final stretch, despite a range of concerns over the monumental change in South Korea's criminal justice system. On Friday, the party announced its plan to confirm a revision to the Criminal Procedure Act, which would remove the prosecution's power to investigate without exceptions, on a party-line bill. At present, the prosecution can investigate a criminal case if it is d
July 26, 2026 - 14:32:56
Trump wants Korean ships. US law stands in the way
US President Donald Trump’s repeated mentions of South Korean shipbuilders for its Navy buildup have raised expectations that companies like Hanwha Ocean and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries could play a bigger role in modernizing the country’s aging naval fleet. The momentum is real. Since South Korea and the US launched their shipbuilding partnership under the “Make America Shipbuilding Great Again” initiative last August, the two sides have moved from broad political commitments toward concrete co
July 22, 2026 - 15:17:38
When one home isn't just a home: Korea weighs tax overhaul
Should someone who owns one ultra-expensive Seoul apartment receive more tax protection than a person with several modest homes in regional cities? And does owning only one property necessarily make it a home rather than an investment? Those questions are at the heart of what could become the biggest rethink of South Korea's property tax system in years. Long centered on the distinction between single-home and multiple-home owners, the system is now being reassessed around a different set of cri
July 20, 2026 - 14:44:52
What Mirae Asset's Korbit acquisition means for Korea
Mirae Asset Financial Group’s acquisition of local cryptocurrency exchange Korbit marks the first takeover of a digital asset exchange by a financial group in South Korea. The move signals regulators' growing willingness to allow traditional financial groups to expand into digital assets. Earlier this month, the country's antitrust watchdog approved Mirae Asset Consulting's acquisition of a 92.06 percent stake in Korbit. The unit is the de facto holding company of the brokerage-led financial gro
July 17, 2026 - 11:39:12
Leveraged chip ETFs test Korea's market structure
Surging trading in South Korea's single-stock leveraged exchange-traded funds tracking Samsung Electronics and SK hynix is raising concerns that the products are no longer just following the market but beginning to amplify swings in the country's two biggest chip stocks — and, by extension, the Kospi. On some trading days, turnover in leveraged ETFs linked to SK hynix has reached as much as 65 percent of trading in the underlying stock. The unusually high ratio, analysts say, can magnify short-t
July 15, 2026 - 17:11:48
Korea eyes slice of global SMR market after pact with US, Japan
A new small modular reactor partnership between South Korea, the US and Japan is fueling hopes that Korean energy companies will capture a larger share of the global market for nuclear power. Last week, the three countries signed a memorandum of cooperation to deploy SMR in third countries, with an initial focus on the Indo-Pacific region. Signed by the foreign ministers of the three countries on the sidelines of the NATO Summit in Turkey, the agreement is raising expectations of new opportuniti
July 15, 2026 - 15:40:11
Korea's next drug lab is in orbit
Korea's space industry, which has been dominated by rockets and satellites up until now, is gearing up to welcome a relatively new type of partner — drugmakers. As microgravity in space allows proteins to grow into larger and more uniform crystals, it helps scientists better understand the three-dimensional structures of disease-related proteins. This helps drug discovery by giving an accurate picture of what shape drug molecules have to be in order to function. Microgravity can accelerate biolo
July 12, 2026 - 11:14:10
Why Korea's rental car industry is drawing global buyout giants
Global private equity firms are lining up to take a bite of South Korea's rental car industry, reflecting a growing view that the industry is transforming from a traditional leasing business into a mobility platform built around vehicle access. US-based private equity firm TPG is moving to acquire a controlling stake in Lotte Rental, the operator of the country's top car rental brand Lotte Rent-a-Car. Having secured exclusive due diligence rights, TPG is seeking to secure the 61.21 percent stake
July 11, 2026 - 16:00:00
How Korea’s digital nomad visa works
South Korea's introduction of a digital nomad visa has strengthened its appeal to remote workers who want to live abroad while continuing to work for overseas employers. Although the visa initially drew skepticism for requiring applicants to earn at least twice Korea's per capita gross national income of 52.4 million won ($37,000) annually, the Ministry of Justice said 743 people obtained the visa after its pilot launch in January 2024. The government has since eased the income requirement for s
July 10, 2026 - 18:06:46
What SK hynix’s record Nasdaq listing means for Korea
SK hynix’s Nasdaq debut settled one question quickly: US investors wanted direct access to the Korean memory-chip leader. The chipmaker’s American depositary receipts opened at $170 and closed Friday at $168.01, about 13 percent above the $149 offer price. More than 106 million ADRs changed hands, according to Bloomberg, after the company raised $26.5 billion in the largest US share sale by a foreign company. SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won called the Nasdaq debut "a truly historical moment" and
July 10, 2026 - 10:36:43
Hanwha Ocean loses Canada bid, gains global recognition
Hanwha Ocean failed to clinch Canada’s largest-ever naval procurement project, but its head-to-head race with Germany’s Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems showed how far South Korea’s submarine industry has advanced, which may bolster its hand in future global tenders. Canada selected TKMS as the preferred supplier for its Canadian Patrol Submarine Project, a program to acquire as many as 12 diesel-electric submarines worth as much as 60 trillion won ($39.3 billion). The decision dealt a blow to Hanwha
July 7, 2026 - 15:19:41
