SEOUL: Seoul shares saw a reduction in their earlier gains late Thursday morning as President Yoon Suk Yeol defended his recent martial law declaration. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) initially rose by over 0.8 percent but later gained only 12.71 points, or 0.52 percent, reaching 2,455.22 by 11:20 a.m.According to Yonhap News Agency, investors are grappling with the implications of the ongoing political turmoil on the financial markets. President Yoon's public address on December 3, which sought to justify the martial law declaration as a governance measure, has created uncertainty among market participants.Despite the political uncertainty, tech shares remained robust, buoyed by gains in the tech sector on Wall Street. Samsung Electronics saw a 0.56 percent increase, while SK hynix experienced a notable rise of 2.04 percent. In the automotive sector, Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia advanced by 1.44 percent and 1.24 percent, respectively. Samsung Biologics, a major player in t he biotech industry, recorded a 2.2 percent surge.The financial sector also showed strength, with KB Financial climbing 1.99 percent and Samsung Life Insurance up 2.17 percent. Conversely, Naver, an internet portal operator, declined by 2.75 percent after several days of gains, and Korea Zinc, currently embroiled in a management control dispute, saw a significant drop of 8.2 percent.In the foreign exchange market, the local currency was trading at 1,433.0 won against the U.S. dollar at 11:20 a.m., a slight decrease of 0.8 won from the previous session.
- September 13, 2026
