Daily Briefing · 2026-11-05

midterm elections, the Democratic Party took control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives, resolving political uncertainty. As a result, the Dow Jones index surged more than 3 percent, its biggest gain in 19 months, as Wall Street cheered. However, domestic markets showed the opposite trend. As concerns grew that Democratic control of Congress could strengthen U.S. regulations on AI data centers, the KOSPI and KOSDAQ each plunged more than 5 percent. Foreign investors net sold more than 3 trillion won, triggering sell-side circuit breakers in both markets. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix led the index decline, plunging around 5 percent and 7 percent respectively amid a drop in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index and regulatory concerns. On the other hand, indicators showing the fundamental strength of the Korean economy were also released. The September current account recorded a surplus of 61.46 billion dollars, the largest on record, and the cumulative surplus for this year surpassed 340 billion dollars. Corporate governance issues also shook the market throughout the day. Hoban Group expanded its stake in Hanjin KAL to 20.69 percent, narrowly overtaking Chairman Cho Won-tae's side to secure the status of largest shareholder. SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won warned that market volatility stemming from the U.S. election and overheated AI investment could lead to a crisis for the Korean economy. At the same time, it was confirmed that Chairman Chey sold off his entire holding of approximately 1.65 million shares of SK Inc. to raise funds for his divorce property settlement. SK also converted SK Ecoplant into a wholly owned subsidiary, restructuring its business around semiconductors and AI. Kakao recorded its highest-ever quarterly revenue and operating profit in the third quarter, driven by growth in its advertising and shopping businesses. Coupang, meanwhile, recorded its highest-ever quarterly revenue of 14 trillion won in the third quarter, but continued to post losses, recording an operating loss in the 600 billion won range due to losses from a logistics center fire and investment in new businesses. The court also dismissed Coupang's request to suspend enforcement of its 423.5 billion won fine. The secondary battery industry continued to struggle. Ecopro BM's third-quarter operating profit fell 76 percent year-on-year to just 12 billion won. LG Chem's operating profit also fell 17.4 percent due to a swing to losses in its petrochemical division. In the crypto asset market, the government extended the implementation of income taxation by two more years, to 2029. Bitcoin rebounded to the 80,000-dollar range as election uncertainty was resolved. In the real estate market, Seoul apartment prices rose for a 91st consecutive week, continuing the longest streak on record, but polarization became pronounced as the Gangnam 3 districts declined while the Gyeonggi region showed strength. Reconstruction levy notices of up to 700 million won were issued to reconstruction apartments in Gangnam, Seoul. The Samsung Electronics DX division union held a large-scale rally demanding resolution of the performance bonus gap with the DS division. In the imported car market, Chinese-made cars outsold Japanese cars for the first time this year.