South Korean

Incheon airport had 38.39m international passengers in first half of 2026, as traffic diverted from Middle East hubsSouth Korea’s Incheon airport has become the world’s busiest airport for international passengers, in part owing to disruption in the Middle East caused by the Iran war.The airport, South Korea’s main gateway, about 30 miles (48km) west of Seoul, handled 38.39 million international passengers in the first half of 2026, according to preliminary figures compiled by the Airports Council International (ACI), the global trade body for airports. Continue reading...

• South Korea is facing economic instability and market volatility driven by the rapid rise of the AI boom, testing its resilience compared to previous crises like the 1997 financial crash. • MSCI has once again declined to upgrade South Korea to "developed market" status, despite the Kospi index reaching record highs. • The decision highlights ongoing concerns among foreign investors regarding frictions in trading, hedging, settlement, and asset-transfer processes.

• Asia-Pacific stocks rose for a second consecutive day, driven largely by a recovery in South Korean markets fueled by semiconductor giants SK Hynix and Samsung. • The Japanese yen surged abruptly while the US dollar declined following the Federal Reserve's decision to keep interest rates unchanged. • Long-term Treasury yields reached new multi-year highs as investors reacted to the Fed's steady rates amidst persistent inflation.

• Samsung Electronics reported a record operating profit of ₩89.5 trillion (€54 billion) for the April-to-June period, marking a 56% increase quarter-on-quarter. • The company's semiconductor division saw a massive surge, with operating profit jumping to ₩89.2 trillion (€53.8 billion), which is 223 times the ₩0.4 trillion recorded a year earlier. • This growth is driven by the global AI boom, which has significantly increased the demand for high-performance memory chips and infrastructure.

• South Korean stocks plummeted on Wednesday, with the benchmark KOSPI index closing at 5,663.24 after a sharp 5.98% drop of 360.42 points. • The sell-off was triggered by growing investor uncertainty regarding whether massive corporate spending on artificial intelligence will generate sufficient financial returns. • Market volatility was so severe that the KOSPI experienced a 20-minute trading halt after the index fell approximately 12% during afternoon trading.

• South Korean stocks are experiencing a severe decline, with the stock index dropping nearly 10% daily and falling into the 5,000 range. • The crash is primarily driven by foreign investors aggressively selling off Korean assets, a trend described as "throwing K-stocks." • Currency fluctuations are a key factor, as the Korean won fell approximately 7.1% against the US dollar in the first half of the year.

• South Korean stocks experienced one of their steepest plunges on Wednesday as part of a broader tech sector rout across Asia. • The collapse was driven by a sell-off in semiconductor firms as investors began unwinding their positions in the artificial intelligence boom. • Market volatility stems from growing trader skepticism regarding whether the massive financial investments in AI will yield the expected returns.