Korean Stock Picks (November 2024)
Korean politics as usual + Korean stocks Lotte Chilsung Beverage, LG Corp, Korean Reinsurance Company, Samsung Life Insurance, KB Financial, KT Corp, KT&G Corp, SK Telecom, Coupang, POSCO, etc.
I can’t add much insight into what has been happening in Korean politics over the last few weeks beyond reiterating what I mentioned on Monday: The attempt to declare martial law was politics as usual as martial law, Presidents going to jail for corruption, and political turmoil in general are normal occurrences in Korean politics - as this tweet again pointed out:
The Korean stock market (specifically the Korea Composite Stock Price Index or KOSPI, the index of all common stocks) seems to have largely shrugged off the recent political events:
Here is what Trading Economics has to say about the Korean Won:
Frankly, I’ve seen bigger currency moves with the Malaysian Ringgit whenever there is political noise here; but it does look like the Korean Won has been in a downtrend since COVID (or longer)…
Stocks covered in the rest of this post (with a short description from our Japan, Korea & Taiwan Stock Index plus price/book, forward P/E, forward dividend yield, and a long term technical chart):
[Note: On desktop browsers, an autogenerated table of contents will appear on the left side linked to each stock. I will add those links below after publishing/emailing this post…]
Korean Air, Ecopro BM / LS Marine Solution / Green Cross Holdings, Korea Zinc, Hyundai Motor, KGInicis Co Ltd, Lotte Chilsung Beverage Co, Kakao Pay, NHN KCP Corp, Hyundai Motor Securities, Eoflow, LG Corp, Korean Reinsurance Company, SK Square, DoubleDown Interactive, PharmaResearch Co Ltd, Ray Co Ltd, DIO Implant, CJ Cheiljedang Corporation, Samsung Life Insurance, KB Financial Group, Gravity Co Ltd, NAVER, Samsung Electronics, Iljin Electric Co Ltd, SK Oceanplant, DI Dong Il Corp, JYP Entertainment, HMM, SoluM Co Ltd, KEPCO Plant Service & Engineering, Nexon Games, PearlAbyss Corp, Neowiz, People & Technology, Cosmecca Korea, Amorepacific Group, Vatech, LG Uplus, KT Corp, LIG Nex1 Co, SK Biopharmaceuticals, Netmarble Corp, Kumho Petrochemical, Grand Korea Leisure, Isu Petasys Co Ltd, Hyundai GF Holdings & Hyundai Ezwel, KT&G Corp, Gradiant Corp, InBody, Jin Air, Vieworks, Dentium, CS Wind Corp, Cafe24 Corp, Krafton, Paradise Co Ltd, Kakao Corp, Kakao Games, SK Telecom, Wemade, Hugel, Jeju Air, Coupang, Wins Co, Hyundai Mobis, SM Entertainment, Douzone Bizon, i-SENS, S-Oil Corp, Pan Ocean, NCSoft Corp, ST Pharm, LX International, Hyundai Glovis, Lotte Tour Development, E-Mart & Shinsegae Inc, GS Engineering & Construction Corp, Hyosung Heavy Industries Corp, OCI Holdings, Cosmo Advanced Materials & Technology, SK IE Technology, Amorepacific Corp, Hanwha Solutions, Hanwha Aerospace, Hansol Chemical, Soulbrain & POSCO Holdings
As mentioned before, the Japan, Korea & Taiwan Stock Index has been updated (now contains 216 Korean stocks) with links to any stock Wikipedia (🇼) entries, preference share availability (🅿️) plus tickers (usually second), our tags (🏷️), etc.
And as always, this post is provided for informational purposes only (and to make your life easier…). It does not constitute investment advice and/or a recommendation…
🔬 Research analysis (including articles/blog posts from fund managers, etc.); 🎥 Video; 🎙️ Podcast; 🎬 Webinar; 📰 Newspaper/magazine article; 📯 Press release; 💻 Substack/blog/website article; ✅ Our own posts; 🗃️ Linked archived article; ⏰ Upcoming webinar or event; ⚠️ Disclosures or restricted access e.g. based on your location, investor status, etc.; 🇼 Wikipedia page; 🏷️ Tagged links to other posts about the stock.
Korean Air
💻 Korean Air Spearheading the Korean Airline Industry Consolidation (Douglas Research Insights) $ Nov 30, 2024
🔬 Korean Air (003490 KS/Buy) - Yields remain firm despite concerns (Mirae Asset Securities) 11.07.2024 ⚠️
🌐🅿️ Korean Air (KRX: 003490 / 003495) - Flag carrier of South Korea. Largest airline based on fleet size, international destinations & flights. 🇼 🏷️
Price/Book (Most Recent Quarter): 0.87
Trailing P/E: 8.24 (no forward P/E) / Forward Annual Dividend Yield: 3.06% (Yahoo! Finance)
Ecopro BM / LS Marine Solution / Green Cross Holdings
💻 Ecopro BM’s KOSPI Move: Trade LS Marine Solution & Green Cross for the Real Play (Smartkarma) $ Nov 29, 2024
💻 Ecopro BM: Transfer of Listing from KOSDAQ to KOSPI Is Likely in 1Q 2025 (Douglas Research Insights) $ Nov 29, 2024
🌐👼🏻 Ecopro BM Co Ltd (KOSDAQ: 247540) - High volume cathode material market. Mass-producing high-nickel cathode materials for the first time in Korea. 🏷️
Price/Book (Most Recent Quarter): 10.17
Forward P/E: 60.98 / Forward Annual Dividend Yield: N/A (Yahoo! Finance)
🌐 LS Marine Solution (KOSDAQ: 060370) - Marine solution provider including submarine communication cable construction. 🏷️
Price/Book (Most Recent Quarter): 2.73
Trailing P/E: 32.19 (no forward P/E) / Forward Annual Dividend Yield: N/A (Yahoo! Finance)
🌐 Green Cross Holdings (KRX: 005250) - Biotechnology (prescription drugs & over the counter drugs). Pharmaceutical manufacturing & distribution. 🏷️
Price/Book (Most Recent Quarter): 0.82
Trailing P/E: 49.84 (no forward P/E) / Forward Annual Dividend Yield: 2.03% (Yahoo! Finance)
Korea Zinc
Note: This October FT piece also gives a good summary of the fight for the company why it matters: 📰 Bain joins battle for control of world’s biggest zinc smelter (FT) October 2, 2024 $ 🗃️
💻 Korea Zinc Saga Turning into a Comedy Show: MBK’s Speculative Move & How It’s Shaping Our Trades (Smartkarma) $ Nov 29, 2024
💻 A Proxy Fight for Korea Zinc in January 2025 (Douglas Research Insights) $ Nov 29, 2024
💻 Main Fact Checks on the Mix-Up Around Kum Yang’s Rights Offering Rollout (Smartkarma) $ Nov 28, 2024
💻 Figuring Out the Right Entry Point to Go Outright Short on Korea Zinc (Smartkarma) $ Nov 25, 2024
💻 MBK Purchases Additional 1.36% Stake in Korea Zinc (Douglas Research Insights) $ Nov 11, 2024
💻 FSS Could Put a Break on the Massive Capital Raise by Korea Zinc This Year (Douglas Research Insights) $
🌐 Korea Zinc (KRX: 010130) - Exploring overseas resources & discovering new rare metals + smelting-related industries &resource recycling business. 🇼 🏷️
Price/Book (Most Recent Quarter): 2.69
Trailing P/E: 44.51 (no forward P/E) / Forward Annual Dividend Yield: 1.50% (Yahoo! Finance)
