The Financial Supervisory Service is stepping up efforts to curb a rise in debt-financed investing, calling for stronger consumer protection measures at brokerage firms. The measures include restricting trading on credit by minors and requiring elderly investors to go through additional confirmation procedures. The FSS announced the plans Thursday at a public briefing on its financial consumer protection efforts held at its headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul. Lee Se-hoon, a senior deputy governor at

Global leveraged exchange-traded fund managers are stepping up their push into South Korea, drawn by retail investors whose appetite for high-risk US-listed products has made them a significant source of assets. Russell Tencer, president of Tradr ETFs, visited Seoul on Thursday to meet Korean investors and promote the firm’s lineup. His trip marked the second visit by a foreign manager specializing in leveraged ETFs since Korea allowed single-stock leveraged funds to begin trading in late May. T

Justice Minister nominee Rep. Kim Seung-won is facing scrutiny over his ties to Genencell, a biotech company whose COVID-19 treatment claims were factors in a Financial Supervisory Service investigation into alleged stock-price manipulation. Kim is accused of passing on a request to drug authorities to approve clinical trials for a Genencell drug in October 2021. It is also alleged that the subsequent approval was used in stock price manipulation. An FSS report obtained by lawmakers yesterday su

The Korea Exchange’s new after-hours market drew more than 1.8 trillion won ($1.3 billion) in turnover on its first day Monday, but thin trading also fueled sharp swings among smaller stocks. The four-hour session, which allows continuous trading from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., recorded 1,637 volatility interruptions — more than four times the 400 triggered during regular trading. Total turnover reached 1.82 trillion won, with 72.24 million shares changing hands, according to the KRX. Kospi-listed stocks

The Korea Exchange, South Korea's main bourse operator, will launch a real-time after hours market Monday, extending trading until 8 p.m. and opening most Kospi and Kosdaq stocks to evening trading in a move aimed at widening investor access. Under the new system, investors will be able to trade until 8 p.m., following the regular trading session from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. With Korea's alternative stock trading platform Nextrade's 8 a.m. premarket included, the trading hours will extend to 12 hour

Mirae Asset Securities’ unexpected zero allocation in SpaceX’s June initial public offering is shaping how Korean financial firms approach the next major US listing: artificial intelligence vanguard Anthropic. As the US company moves toward an IPO, Korean asset managers and brokerages are taking a cautious approach, industry sources said Thursday. Rather than trying to secure shares before the listing, most plan to buy the stock on the open market afterward. At least six Korean asset managers ar

South Korea’s capital market needs consistent reforms, greater stability and broader sources of growth to attract global investors for the long term, market experts said at The Korea Herald’s HIT Forum in Seoul on Tuesday. Held under the theme “What Will Make Global Capital Stay?” the panel brought together Alexander Treves, managing director at JPMorgan Asset Management; Frank Benzimra, head of Asia equity strategy at Societe Generale; Park Jeong-woo, Nomura’s senior economist for Korea and Tai

South Korea’s capital market must evolve from a “nice-to-have” option into a “must-have” destination for global investors, with faster progress on corporate governance and shareholder returns needed to narrow the Korea discount, according to Alexander Treves, managing director at JPMorgan Asset Management. “If Korea does not continue to improve, in particular in terms of corporate governance, it risks being just a nice-to-have investment destination for global investors,” Treves said at The Kore

South Korean retail investors may have cooled on single-stock leveraged ETFs at home after regulators tightened trading rules, but their appetite for leveraged bets has not disappeared. Instead, much of that demand has flowed into US-listed products. Koreans now own unusually large portions of several leveraged ETFs, giving them an outsized presence in corners of the US market — and potentially contributing to trading volumes that recently disrupted daytime access to popular products. The cleare

Korea Exchange Chair and CEO Jeong Eun-bo pitched South Korea’s capital market reforms to global investors in New York on Thursday before signing a cooperation agreement with the New York Stock Exchange. The KRX hosted its Global Roadshow with BofA Securities at Bank of America Tower, drawing about 30 major institutional investors. Jeong outlined recent improvements to Korea’s capital market system and efforts to attract a broader range of investors, according to the exchange. He later signed a

The Korean government unveiled a sweeping public-sector overhaul Thursday that aims to merge major state-run power, port and energy companies while splitting housing giant Korea Land and Housing Corp., or LH, into two. The Public Institution Functional Reform Plan seeks to reduce the number of public entities by 109 through strategic restructuring, consolidation of overlapping functions and absorption of subsidiaries and small agencies. The five state-run power generators — Korea South-East Powe

South Korean retail investors are trading some popular US leveraged securities without access to real-time quotes during daytime hours, after Blue Ocean ATS suspended trading in 18 securities to comply with US Securities and Exchange Commission rules. The suspension took effect with Monday’s 8 p.m. ET session, Blue Ocean ATS said. Most of the affected securities are leveraged or inverse products, including the Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X Shares, known as SOXL, and the Direxion Daily MSC

Woori Financial Group Chairman Yim Jong-ryong and 55 other senior executives have purchased company shares as the group expands its nonbanking operations and integrates its two life insurers. Yim bought 5,000 shares Aug. 24, shortly after Woori Financial completed its acquisition of Dongyang Life Insurance and announced plans to merge it with ABL Life Insurance, the company said Wednesday. The shares were purchased at 31,800 won ($23.26) apiece, bringing Yim's holdings to 15,000 shares. The othe

Backlash over leveraged exchange-traded funds has the Financial Services Commission treading more cautiously on further capital market reforms, putting two planned market initiatives at risk of delay. The Korea Exchange’s fractional investment market, scheduled to open in November, is increasingly likely to be postponed, according to financial industry sources Tuesday. Nextrade’s plan to begin after-hours ETF trading this year has also stalled. Industry officials said the regulator is reassessin

Bank of Korea Gov. Shin Hyun-song said the won had become more resilient to external shocks and that South Korea’s planned investment in the United States should have a manageable impact on the currency. “We have gained some control over the exchange rate and are well prepared for whatever shocks may come,” Shin told reporters Friday after attending the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium in Wyoming for the first time as BOK governor. He cited the BOK’s recent preemptive rate increase and poi