[Edaily Reporter kyoungeun kim ] The Financial Services Commission (FSC) issued a press release in response to a Bloomberg column titled “South Korea Is Also Becoming an Uninvestable Country,” refuting the article by stating, “Some of the statistics cited do not align with the facts.”

The column noted that concerns are being raised that even investors who still believe in the global artificial intelligence (AI) industry boom may decide to steer clear of the KOSPI, suggesting that South Korea is not a suitable market for investment.
In response, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) emphasized that the Korean economy is showing greater strength than ever in terms of fundamentals, such as gross domestic product (GDP) growth and the current account balance. It explained that economic growth in the second quarter of this year reached 3.7% year-over-year, and the current account surplus in May hit a record high of $38.61 billion.
The FSC explained that, driven by expectations for the AI and semiconductor industries, the projected earnings of domestic companies have actually risen compared to when stock prices were at their peak. The profit forecast for KOSPI companies this year, based on aggregated estimates from FnGuide, rose from 64.4 trillion won at the end of March to 85.4 trillion won at the end of April and 91.2 trillion won at the end of May, expanding to 93 trillion won on June 22, when the KOSPI index peaked. Subsequently, the figure rose to 97.5 trillion won by the end of July and stood at 97.8 trillion won as of the 4th of this month. The FSC added that many domestic and international investment banks (IBs) continue to place significant weight on the robust growth potential of the domestic stock market.
The FSC stated, “While it is true that volatility has increased since mid-June, this is attributable to a variety of complex factors, and the market assessment is that there are signs of a recent recovery in investor sentiment.” The government emphasized that it plans to firmly maintain a market-stabilization stance and is doing its utmost to manage volatility, including stabilizing concerns recently raised regarding single-stock leverage products through supplementary measures.
In fact, trading volume fell sharply from 12.4 trillion won on the 30th of last month—before the margin requirement increase—to 1.3 trillion won on the 4th of this month. This represents a significant decline compared to the peak of 19.4 trillion won reached on June 25.
In particular, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) questioned the accuracy of the statistics cited in the Bloomberg column. It pointed out that while the average daily number of forced liquidation cases—which combine margin loans and unpaid balances—was around 3,000 accounts in June, the column cited a figure of 360,000 accounts. The FSC stated that the cited statistics appear to contain inaccuracies and that the exact source has not been verified.
The FSC emphatically stated, “Given that Korea is emerging as an indispensable supply chain and investment destination in the global AI market, there is absolutely no concern that the country will be assessed as an unsuitable investment destination based on figures of unclear origin.” It added, “We plan to consistently pursue structural reforms in the capital market to enhance the stock market’s resilience and growth potential while managing short-term volatility.”