Parent shareholders get no shares in a muljeok bunhal (physical spin-off), so when the unit later IPOs the parent reprices as a holding company — historically at steep discounts to net asset value. How to read Korea’s two split structures, the double-counting problem, and the appraisal rights introduced in late 2022.
The overnight won rate Korean media quote every morning is not spot at all — it is the New York non-deliverable forward (NDF), a dollar-settled contract that fixes against Seoul’s daily market average rate. Here is how it is quoted, who trades it, and how to read the NDF-onshore gap as a signal.
Korea withholds 22% on dividends paid to non-residents (often reduced to 10-15% by tax treaty), charges a securities transaction tax — 0.2% on KOSPI sales as of 2026 — on every sale, and exempts most foreign portfolio investors from capital-gains tax entirely. Here is how each rule is applied at source, how to claim the treaty rate before a record date, and how to reclaim over-withheld tax.
Micron’s fiscal quarters end in August, November, February and May, so it reports real DRAM/NAND numbers weeks before Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. Here is how to read its bit-shipment guidance, HBM commentary, inventory days and capex as direct inputs into the next morning’s Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix open in Seoul.
Korean IPOs allocate at least half the retail tranche by equal allotment — falling back to a random draw only when subscribers outnumber the available shares — let new listings trade anywhere from 60% to 400% of the offer price during the debut session, and release locked-up shares on a published lockup calendar. Here is how each mechanism works and how to read the supply-and-demand signals around it.
Rising US 10-year Treasury yields hit Korean stocks through three channels: a higher global discount rate that compresses Samsung and SK Hynix valuations, a wider US-Korea rate gap that lifts USD/KRW, and foreign selling on the KRX. Here is how each channel works, which thresholds matter, and how to read the daily foreign-flow print step by step.
Korea allows only covered short selling, enforces an uptick rule, and has banned shorting outright after every major crisis since 2008. Here is how the regime works, why retail access is contested, and how to read flow data like the KRW 2.6 trillion foreign outflow of 2026-09-10.
A move in USD/KRW from about 1,345 to 1,450 erases roughly 7% of a dollar-based KOSPI return before a single stock price moves. This guide explains the FX feedback loop, why the 1,400-1,500 zone matters, hedged vs unhedged exposure, and how to read foreign flow data in eok won.
FOMC decisions land at 3 AM KST (4 AM in US winter), and Seoul is among the first major cash markets to open on the result. Here is how to read Fed funds futures probabilities like a ‘66% priced in’ figure, what the dot plot actually commits the Fed to (nothing), and the three channels — USD/KRW, foreign flows, and the BOK rate gap — that carry the shock into the 9 AM Korean open.
US CPI hits at 21:30-22:30 KST, roughly eleven hours before the KOSPI opens. Three channels carry the surprise into Seoul’s 9:00 a.m. session: US index futures and the SOX, the USD/KRW rate, and foreign investor flow direction. Here is how to read each one, with a worked example of reading a multi-session foreign-flow tape from August 2026.