Benchmark KOSPI breaks 2,900, hits highest level in 41 months

We start with news about the rally in the local stock market.

The benchmark KOSPI soared to its highest in over three years breaking past the 2-thousand-900 mark today.

Our correspondent Park Jun-han has the closing numbers.

South Korea's benchmark KOSPI surpassed 2,900 on Wednesday, for the first time in 3 years and 5 months.

The KOSPI, which closed below 2,300 on April 9th, has sharply rebounded — gaining over 25 percent to close at just above 2,907.

Among stocks showing strong momentum were those in the financial and semiconductor sectors.

Globally, easing uncertainties — especially from the de-escalation of U.S.-China tariff tensions following high-level talks — boosted the rise of Korean semiconductor stocks.

"Financial groups and such have risen relatively a bit. I think it's fair to say that the semiconductor industry is also taking part in the uptrend due to the improvement in external conditions."

President Lee Jae-myung while he was running for the presidency said he was committed to achieving "KOSPI 5,000" by improving corporate governance and eradicating abuses of management control.

Now that Lee has taken office, expectations for his administration's economic policies are fueling investor expectations, which is driving the market rally.

"Although these policies have not yet been implemented, the administration is considering measures such as a large-scale supplementary budget to stimulate the domestic economy. Also, expectations that amendments to the Korean Commercial Act will strengthen shareholder protections have generally driven an inflow of foreign funds."

On Wednesday, President Lee visited the Korea Exchange to discuss how to revitalize the stock market by observing operations.

At the exchange, Lee said his administration was reviewing the introduction of systems to detect unfair transactions early.

Lee also said he plans to introduce a zero-tolerance policy on stock price manipulation. Such a policy would include clawing back any ill-gotten gains.

Park Jun-han, Arirang News.