IMF warns Korea is vulnerable to FX shocks: dollar assets with FX risk are 25 times the FX market size

Summary

Park Se-ik's daily market-news show reviews Korean and global headlines, noting KOSPI strength around 4,900 while cautioning on a possible late-month pullback. He discusses heavy Korean purchases of US stocks, Trump's Greenland-related tariff threats against NATO allies, AI-driven changes in coding education, and a regulatory debate over 3x leveraged ETFs. He strongly opposes 3x leveraged ETFs, sees US protectionism as an eventual negative for US equities, and downplays IMF warnings about Korea's FX-exposed dollar assets. The show also covers a Bank of Korea report warning that Korean youth employment is increasingly resembling Japan's lost decades.

• KOSPI remained strong around 4,900, but Park Se-ik flagged a possible late-month giveback.
• Korean investors were reported as major net buyers of US stocks, exceeding $66bn through November.
• Trump's tariff threats against eight NATO countries over Greenland raised concerns about the Atlantic alliance.
• Stanford and other US universities are shifting tech education toward AI communication skills as junior coding roles are displaced.
• Korean regulators are considering domestic 3x leveraged ETFs, which Park Se-ik strongly opposes.
• IMF warned that Korea's FX-exposed dollar assets are 25 times the FX market size, but Park Se-ik viewed the risk as self-correcting through exports.
• A Bank of Korea report compared Korean youth employment problems to Japan's lost-generation labor market.