Korea Stock Market News
KOSPI & KOSDAQ moves, foreign/institutional flows, and company catalysts — translated for global investors.
Single-Stock Leveraged ETFs Drew ₩15 Trillion from Retail Investors—Then Got Cut in Half in Just Two Months
Fourteen single-stock leveraged ETFs, into which retail investors poured a combined 15 trillion won, have plunged to roughly half their listing price just two months after debut. The daily-rebalancing structure of leveraged products amplified the underlying asset's correction, and the piece also examines the risk of further losses and tighter regulation of such products.
Jul 28, 2026
CP System Surges 18% as Trading Value Hits 231.8 Billion Won and Search Interest Spikes
CP System jumped 18.82%, ranking 18th among gainers and 25th in trading value (about 231.8 billion won) across the KOSPI and KOSDAQ. Naver search volume also spiked sharply, but with no company-specific disclosure to explain the move, the rally appears to be a short-term swing driven mainly by supply-demand (order flow).
Jul 28, 2026
Sangji Construction: The Supply Contract Filing Raises One Question First — Cash
Sangji Construction disclosed a single sale and supply contract on July 28, 2026. With the contract size undisclosed, the key issues to watch are how quickly revenue will be recognized and how much working-capital burden the deal will bring.
Jul 28, 2026
KOSPI and KOSDAQ Circuit Breakers: The Real Signal Behind the 8% Plunge
The July 28 sell-off, which triggered simultaneous circuit breakers on the KOSPI and KOSDAQ, marks a repricing of Korean equity multiples driven by a correction in U.S. AI chip stocks and concerns over China's push for semiconductor self-sufficiency.
Jul 28, 2026
SK Hynix ADR Falls Below Its $149 IPO Price, Exposing Cracks in the AI Narrative
SK Hynix's ADR slid to as low as $139.01 intraday on July 27, dropping below its $149 IPO price. Before celebrating the $26.5 billion capital raise, the market needs to re-verify AI memory valuations.
Jul 28, 2026
Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix Leveraged ETFs: Lee Eok-won Floats 20% Individual Investment Cap
Financial Services Commission Chairman Lee Eok-won said on the 28th that if demand for leveraged ETFs tracking Samsung Electronics (005930) and SK Hynix (000660) doesn't cool down, the regulator will consider additional measures, including setting an individual investment cap in the 20% range. This is still a warning stage before any implementation.
Jul 28, 2026
Why Nvidia Is Investing ₩7.3 Trillion in Ilya Sutskever's Revenue-Less AI Startup
Nvidia has invested 7.3 trillion won in the AI startup founded by Ilya Sutskever, the former OpenAI chief scientist who led the development of ChatGPT. This piece examines why multi-trillion-won bets keep landing on a company with no revenue and no product, and what ripple effects this could have on the GPU and HBM supply chain.
Jul 28, 2026
Hengsheng Group's Largest Shareholder to Change: A Disclosure Without Numbers Leaves Key Variables
Hengsheng Group disclosed a change in its largest shareholder on July 28, 2026. Since the deal size was not disclosed, the stock (ticker) price should first reflect confirmation of governance and business restructuring rather than a control premium.
Jul 28, 2026
Samsung Card Faces Repeated Target Price Cuts as High Rates Squeeze Q2 Earnings
Samsung Card's Q2 net profit fell short of expectations, prompting a wave of target price cuts from brokerages. Rising funding costs and an increase in personal rehabilitation filings are the core pressures.
Jul 28, 2026
Doosan Fuel Cell's Target Price Cut, and Why U.S. Order Expectations Are Wavering
Despite expectations for data center power demand, uncertainty over order size has grown for Doosan Fuel Cell. NH Investment & Securities' target price cut targets the gap where the stock price has run ahead of actual order volume.
Jul 28, 2026
Big 4 Banks' Precautionary Loans Surpass ₩8 Trillion as Bad-Debt Growth Outpaces Total Lending 6-Fold
Precautionary loans at Korea's four major commercial banks — KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, and Woori — rose by 705 billion won over three months, pushing the total past 8 trillion won. That expansion is running six times faster than the growth in total lending, and substandard-or-below loans also climbed 11%, putting asset-quality management to the test in the second half of the year, analysts say.
Jul 27, 2026
Korea Federation of Micro Enterprises Files First Objection in Four Years Over 10,700-Won Minimum Wage — Citing "2 Million Won a Month" Threshold
The Korea Federation of Micro Enterprises has submitted a formal objection to the Ministry of Employment and Labor over next year's proposed minimum wage of 10,700 won per hour — its first such filing since 2022. The federation argues that 4 in 10 small business owners earn less than 2 million won a month, and cites record-high debt levels and elevated business-closure rates as grounds for reconsideration.
Jul 27, 2026
Tesla Down 30%, SpaceX Valuation Slips Too — Cracks Emerge in Korean Retail's 30 Trillion Won Bet
Tesla and SpaceX, which together account for roughly 30 trillion won in holdings by Korean retail investors ("Seohak-gaemi"), are both struggling. Tesla shares have fallen nearly 30% this year, while SpaceX secondary-market shares have traded below the price of its most recent funding round. Intensifying EV competition and uncertainty over its AI business are behind the slide.
Jul 27, 2026
TN Entertainment: What the Trading Halt Really Signals Isn't Stock Price — It's Distribution Structure
TN Entertainment's shares were halted on July 27, 2026, due to an electronic registration change/cancellation related to a stock consolidation. This is less a business event and more a signal about a reset of share count and trading unit structure.
Jul 27, 2026
Cyclospora Outbreak Exposes How Consolidated Food Supply Chains Amplify Risk for Restaurant Stocks
The cyclospora outbreak isn't just a foodborne-illness story. As produce supply chains have grown larger and more consolidated, the reach of contamination has widened too—hitting straight at the cost structure of restaurant (ticker) and retail (ticker) names.
Jul 27, 2026
KB Financial Group, Kakao Bank to Overhaul Small-Business Loan Screening for 2.2 Trillion Won in Lending
A small-business-specific credit evaluation model will be applied to 2.2 trillion won in loans across 16 banks starting in late August. Repeat customers, years in business, and commercial-district growth potential become new variables in bank lending.
Jul 27, 2026
Seonkwang's Largest-Shareholder Change: For a Port Logistics Stock, Voting Rights Come First
Seonkwang (003100) disclosed a change in its largest shareholder on July 27, 2026. With no capital-increase or borrowing figures attached, the stock is more likely to weigh governance stability first, ahead of any control premium.
Jul 27, 2026
Samsung Electronics, SK Meet Global Tech Giants in Sicily — HBM Rivalry in Focus
Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong and SK Chairman Chey Tae-won are set to meet global tech giants again in Sicily, following their San Francisco encounter. The focus of AI chip cooperation is supply chain leadership.
Jul 27, 2026
SK Hynix, Samsung Electronics: July 29-30 Earnings to Shake KOSPI 6755
SK Hynix reports Q2 earnings on the 29th, Samsung Electronics on the 30th. AI capex from Microsoft, Meta, Amazon and Apple, along with the July FOMC meeting, will test the semiconductor-led market.
Jul 27, 2026
LG Innotek Likely to Join MSCI in August... LG Display, POSCO International Land on Removal List
LG Innotek is seen as a strong candidate for inclusion in the MSCI Korea Index at the August regular review, with LS and LG CNS also mentioned as possible additions. Meanwhile, LG Display and POSCO International face potential exclusion, raising concerns about passive fund outflows. The announcement is expected in the second week of August.
Jul 27, 2026
Nuen AI Surges 29%, IT Service Stocks Rally in Tandem
Nuen AI surged 29.47% today, ranking 9th among all gainers across KOSPI and KOSDAQ. Fellow IT service-sector stocks iCraft and Konan Technology also rallied, pointing clearly to theme-driven supply-demand (order flow) inflows.
Jul 27, 2026
TN Entertainment Plunges Over 30% While Same-Sector Peer M83 Rallies
TN Entertainment plunged 29.94% today, ranking among the top five sharpest decliners. In contrast, M83, a stock in the same entertainment/culture sector, rose 9.4%, creating a directional divergence. No disclosed reason for the individual stock's sharp drop has been confirmed at this time.
Jul 27, 2026
MI Tech Acquires Equity Stake in Another Company... Broadening Its Stent Growth Axis?
MI Tech disclosed on July 27, 2026 a decision to acquire equity in another company. With the amount, target, and stake ratio yet to be confirmed, the strategic intent is worth noting, but the earnings link must be verified first.
Jul 27, 2026
L&F: The Fallout From a 3.8 Trillion Won Tesla Contract Shrinking to 9.73 Million Won
The Financial Supervisory Service's special judicial police have moved to secure Korea Exchange (KRX) records over L&F's corrected disclosure. The episode is spreading pressure onto the credibility of long-term cathode material supply contract disclosures and onto secondary battery valuations.
Jul 27, 2026