On the 28th, the domestic stock market froze like a late-winter cold snap. This was due to the approaching resumption of short selling and the heightened anxiety surrounding the U.S. tariffs. Due to foreign investors' selling, the KOSPI index broke below the 2600 level, and the KOSDAQ index returned to its early-year level.
On that day, the KOSPI index closed at 2557.98, down 49.17 points (1.89%) from the previous trading day. The index opened at 2592.63, down 14.52 points (0.56%) from the previous day, and at one point fell below the 2550 level. It was reported that individuals and institutions net purchased 54.11 billion won and 3.1 billion won worth of stocks, respectively. In contrast, foreign investors net sold 54.11 billion won.
In the securities market, most stocks showed a 'red light.' Samsung Electronics ended trading down 2.59% at 60,700 won, and its preferred stock, Samsung Electronics Preferred, also fell by 2.36%. SK hynix closed the market down 3.72% at 199,300 won, losing its '200,000-won' status.
Hyundai Motor and Kia, hit by the Trump administration's formalization of import car tariffs, fell by 3.53% and 2.66%, respectively. Hanwha Aerospace, which announced a capital increase of 3.6 trillion won on the 20th, initially rose more than 2% in early trading due to a request from the Financial Supervisory Service for a correction report, but ultimately closed down 4.98%.
Additionally, Samsung Biologics, Celltrion, KB Financial, NAVER, and others all closed lower. LG Energy Solution attempted to rebound during trading but ultimately closed down 0.14%.
Amid the regular shareholder meetings that day, the market's attention was focused on Theborn Korea. Theborn Korea closed at 30,050 won, up 4.34% from the previous trading day. This marks the first time Theborn Korea's stock price has exceeded 30,000 won in nearly a month. In the morning, CEO Baek Jong-won attended the shareholder meeting and was reported to have said, "I am profoundly reflecting on our mistakes," which caused the stock price to rise over 14% at one point during the day. Theborn Korea has recently faced scandals regarding the quality of its 'Bacon Ham' and allegations of violating the Agricultural Land Act.
On the same day, the stock prices of Korea Zinc and Young Poong, which held their shareholder meetings, both fell. Korea Zinc had surged 7% at the beginning of trading but switched to decline and closed down 8.70% at 766,000 won. Young Poong also rose nearly 3% initially but recorded a drop of 3.15%, closing at 430,000 won. The decline in stock prices occurred after a fierce contest during the meeting, where Korea Zinc Chairman Choi Yoon-beom's camp managed to thwart the attempt by the Young Poong-MBK Partners alliance to seize control of the board.
On that day, stocks that faced the ex-dividend date also saw significant declines. Yuanta Securities Korea closed down 7.12% at 2,610 won, while ▲Gwangju Shinsegae (-7.04%) ▲Industrial Bank of Korea (-6.25%) ▲DB Financial Investment (-5.71%) ▲NH Investment & Securities (-2.77%) ▲Mirae Asset Securities (-4.12%) also showed weakness. The ex-dividend date for these stocks is the 31st, meaning that shareholders had to hold the stocks until the day before the cut-off date, which is two trading days prior to the ex-dividend date.
On that day, the KOSDAQ index closed down 13.73 points (1.94%) at 693.76. The index initially started slightly up from the 700 level but quickly turned to decline, with the drop widening in the afternoon. This is the first time the KOSDAQ index has closed below the 700 level since Jan. 2, approximately three months ago. In the KOSDAQ market, individual investors net purchased 119.9 billion won, while foreign and domestic institutions sold 115.8 billion won and 4 billion won worth of stocks, respectively.
Among the top 10 market capitalization stocks in the KOSDAQ, Alteogen, HUGEL, CLASSYS, and PharmaResearch saw their stock prices rise. In contrast, Ecopro BM, Ecopro, HLB, Rainbow Robotics, Sam Chun Dang Pharm, and KOLON TissueGene all declined.
In the foreign exchange market in Seoul, as of 3:30 p.m., the won-dollar exchange rate recorded 1466.5 won, up 1.2 won from the previous day.