The latest market, economy, central-bank, policy and company stories from South Korea, updated every 15 minutes. Last updated 19 October 2026.
| GDP growth (2025) | 1.0% | Slow growth. |
| Inflation (2025) | 2.1% | Close to the ~2% most central banks aim for. |
| Unemployment (2025) | 2.7% | Low: the job market is tight. |
| GDP per person (2025) | $36,227 | Average output per person: a rough measure of how wealthy a country is. |
| Current account (2025) | +6.6% of GDP | Surplus: earns more from abroad than it spends. |
| Exports (2025) | 45.8% of GDP | An open, trading economy. |
Latest official annual figures from World Bank Open Data (CC BY 4.0). Context, not a forecast or financial advice.
South Korean regulators are examining whether a US listing of SK Hynix subsidiary Solidigm would breach dual-listing rules. The review raises questions about minority shareholder protections as the company reportedly considers an IPO valuing it at up to $150 billion.
South Korea’s Kospi fell as AI investment concerns triggered technology stock selling, although dip buying helped recover early losses. Semiconductor shares remained weak, while automakers, battery makers and select heavyweight stocks gained.
South Korea’s KOSPI rebounded 2.36% on bargain hunting after a steep selloff, but remained on track for its biggest weekly decline since October 2008. Concerns over AI investment sustainability and continued foreign selling weighed on investor sentiment.
The KOSPI index in South Korea plummeted, leading to a five-minute trading suspension as sell orders outnumbered buyers. Major tech players, including Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, faced considerable losses, fueling the decline.
South Korea’s KOSPI rebounded 0.74% on Wednesday as investors bought semiconductor stocks after five consecutive sessions of losses. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix advanced, supported by a recovery in US AI chipmakers.
The Korean market rises on falls on expectations for profitability of the semiconductor industry and how long it can be sustained. Sentiment is cyclical and right now, the skepticism is rising
Seoul, Tokyo and Taipei led losses across Asian stock markets on Tuesday as technology firms plunged on fresh worries about the outlook for the AI investment boom, with traders preparing for a crucial earnings...
South Korea’s Kospi plunged over 7% amid concerns about rising competition from Chinese semiconductor makers, triggering a temporary trading curb. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix suffered sharp losses, while foreign investors sold equities heavily.
South Korean shares fell nearly 2% on Monday as renewed Middle East attacks heightened concerns over global energy supplies. Foreign investor selling and losses in chipmakers weighed on the KOSPI, while the won strengthened to its highest level since October 2024.
South Korea's stock market is facing a significant downturn after a dominant run in the global AI sector, as the Kospi has dropped 22% since its peak, marking it as the worst performer in the second half of the year. A startling 70% decline in turnover has prompted withdrawals from both foreign and local investors.
South Korea spent much of this year as a poster child of the scorching global AI trade. Now, by almost every measure, the $4.3 trillion stock market is rapidly losing relevance with investors.
South Korea has said it will recall its ambassador to Ukraine, the latest escalation in a diplomatic spat between both countries.
It is the latest in a diplomatic spat after Kyiv disclosed that two North Korean prisoners were transferred to Seoul.
South Korean shares trade lower as chip stocks weaken, and rising oil prices fuel inflation concerns, putting the KOSPI on course for a second straight weekly decline.
Ukrainian reports of South Korean fuel exports to Russia come amid strained tensions between Seoul and Kyiv.
South Korean shares declined as investors turned cautious ahead of Samsung Electronics' third-quarter earnings report, with markets seeking clues on AI-driven chip demand. The KOSPI fell amid weakness in major automakers, steel and semiconductor stocks, while foreign investors remained net sellers.
A marooned three-metre-long (nine feet) shark in South Korea has drawn more than a million visitors to the coastal city of Busan, boosting local retail sales and triggering a trademark war, as authorities rush to stop opportunistic vendors from cashing in on the viral phenomenon.
Retail investors are estimated to have lost 2.3 trillion won ($1.7 billion) from leveraged exchange-traded products tracking South Korea’s two chipmaking giants in just months, according to a lawmaker’s office, in the first revelation of the magnitude of risks from such bets.