SeoulMarkets · tag
concentration
9 stories tagged “concentration”, each from official Korean data with its source and timestamp.
Korea lists futures on 1,799 stocks. On one day, 333 of them traded.
One name took a third of the day's stock-futures volume. Five names took half of it; five out of six listed stock futures did not trade at all.
Only 12 of Korea's 160 stock indices are up since the June peak
The KOSPI is up 125% in two years — a headline that hides the turn. From the 22 June peak, 148 of 160 indices have fallen, the median down 19.3%. The rally was chips; the correction is everything else. As of 3 Aug 2026. Not advice.
Six bonds were 90% of a day's Korean bond trading
Korea's listed bond market has a price on hundreds of issues but trades almost none of them. On 2026-08-21, six bonds were 90% of all trading value, and government benchmarks were 95%. It held that way every day we measured. Not advice.
One in twenty listed Korean stocks didn't trade a single share
Korea's market is a barbell. On both days we've measured, two stocks were about half of all trading while roughly one in twenty listed issues traded nothing at all. A crowded head, a silent tail. Not advice.
Korea's stock market and trade: the top four are half of everything
How concentrated is the Korean stock market? Rank Korea's stocks, or its export and import partners, and the top four are about half every time — every Gini past 0.9. KOSPI, KOSDAQ and trade, one pattern. Not advice.
Four stocks are half of Korea's entire stock market
Of 2,764 listed companies, the four biggest are 52% of all market value and the top ten are 60%. Samsung alone is a quarter. Meanwhile 1,822 KOSDAQ names together are just 7%. Korea's market is a few giants and a very long tail. Not advice.
Seventy-seven companies hold half of Korea's listed-market jobs
Across 2,790 listed companies that disclose headcount, 1.87 million people work. The ten largest hold 22% of them, the top hundred 55%, and just 77 firms account for half. The median listed company reports 160 employees. Not advice.
Korea's listed market spreads across 61 industries by count, but its value sits in one
No industry is more than 11% of listed companies — electronics leads at 320 firms, then machinery, publishing and pharma. Yet our index work put electronics at 60% of KOSPI's value. The company roster is broad; the money is not. Not advice.
Six in ten formally employed Koreans work in the capital region. It barely pays more.
The Seoul metro area holds 61.2% of enrolled workers on a footprint that pays a 1.21x premium at most — and less than that once the pension ceiling and Seoul's rents are taken into account. The pull isn't the paycheque.