SEOUL, August 05 (AJP) — South Korea's financial regulator has rejected a Bloomberg column that described the country as becoming "uninvestable," saying the assessment relied on inaccurate data and overlooked the country's economic fundamentals.
The Financial Services Commission (FSC) in a statement released late Tuesday said there was no basis for concerns that South Korea could be regarded as an uninvestable market, saying the country has emerged as an irreplaceable part of the global artificial intelligence (AI) supply chain and continues to attract investment.
The response came after Bloomberg columnist Shuli Ren argued in a recent column titled "South Korea is Becoming Uninvestable, Too" that even investors who remain optimistic about the global AI boom could choose to stay away from South Korean stocks because of growing concerns over the market's volatility.
The FSC disputed the statistics cited in the column, claiming they did not match officially verified data and that the source of the figures was unclear.
The regulator noted that forced liquidations involving margin loans and unpaid purchases averaged about 3,000 accounts per day in June, far below the 360,000 accounts cited.
It also added that the country’s economic fundamentals remained solid, citing second-quarter GDP growth of 3.7 percent from a year earlier and a record current account surplus of $38.61 billion in May.
It said expectations for listed companies' earnings have continued to improve on optimism over the AI and semiconductor industries, even after the KOSPI reached its recent peak.
According to FnGuide data cited by the FSC, projected earnings for KOSPI-listed companies rose from 644 trillion won ($465 billion) at the end of March to 978 trillion won as of Tuesday. Notably, forecasts continued to improve after the KOSPI's late-June peak, rising from 930 trillion won to 978 trillion won.
Turning to the recent market turbulence, the regulator said the sharp volatility since mid-June reflected a combination of factors rather than a deterioration in the country's economic fundamentals, adding that market conditions were beginning to stabilize.
It pointed to recent measures targeting single-stock leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETFs), saying the government was working to curb risks associated with the products while maintaining overall market stability.
Daily turnover in the ETFs fell to 1.3 trillion won on Tuesday, down from 12.4 trillion won before the higher minimum cash deposit requirement took effect on July 30 and 19.4 trillion won at its peak on June 25.
"We will continue to manage short-term market volatility while advancing measures to strengthen the capital market and support long-term growth," the FSC said.
AJP Takeaways:
— On Aug. 5, 2026, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) rejected a Bloomberg opinion column that described South Korea as becoming "uninvestable," saying the assessment relied on inaccurate data and did not reflect the country's economic fundamentals.
— The FSC said South Korea remains an important destination for investment, citing its role in the global artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductor supply chain, stronger corporate earnings expectations and support from domestic and international investment banks.
— The regulator said forced liquidations involving margin loans and unpaid purchases averaged about 3,000 accounts per day in June 2026, disputing the Bloomberg column's reference to 360,000 accounts.
— The FSC said recent market volatility reflected multiple factors rather than weakening economic fundamentals and pointed to a sharp decline in trading of single-stock leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETFs) following tighter regulations introduced on July 30, 2026.
— The Financial Services Commission said it will continue managing short-term market volatility while pursuing measures to strengthen South Korea's capital market and support long-term growth.
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