KOSPI Surges 6.63% to Close Fed Holds Rates in 10-2 Vote

The special counsel team led by Lee Tae-han verified ballots from the June 3 local elections on the 28th at the Handball Stadium in Seoul's Olympic Park. The start was delayed by a People Power Party protest, and by 11:30 p.m. more than 90% had been completed. About 110 special counsel staff and around 500 National Election Commission staff took part.

According to a written briefing by Senior Secretary for Political Affairs Hong Ik-pyo, President Lee hosted a dinner on the 28th with Democratic Party lawmakers serving five and six terms and asked them to help advance reforms, improve livelihoods, and promote unity. Participants discussed constitutional and political reform, inter-Korean relations, local government finances, and party stability, Hong said.

A fire was reported at an apartment in Junggye-dong, Nowon-gu, Seoul, at about 6:26 p.m. on the 28th. One man in his 70s living in the building died, and no other casualties were confirmed. Firefighters fully extinguished the fire at 7:04 p.m.

A fire broke out on the first floor of a three-story villa in Sajik-dong, Cheongwon-gu, Cheongju, at about 6:25 p.m. on the 28th. The first arriving police officer became trapped while trying to evacuate an 80-something woman on the second floor, and was rescued by firefighters without injury. The fire was put out in about 30 minutes.

The KMCC imposed fines of 42.9 billion won on Google and 20.81 billion won on Apple at its plenary meeting on the 28th. It ordered corrective measures, including halting prohibited conduct and improving procedures, and decided not to pursue criminal charges.

The Federal Reserve held its benchmark rate at 3.75-4.00% at the FOMC on the 28th (local time). The vote was 10 to 2, with Governor Cook and President Hammack arguing for a 0.25-percentage-point hike. The statement said inflation remains elevated.

The won-dollar exchange rate closed on the 28th at 1,337.7, up 14.0 won from the previous trading day. It was the largest one-day gain in about five months, following the 17.5-won rise on May 12. The article cites dollar demand from importers' payments and overseas stock purchases.

On October 28, the KOSPI closed up 374.10 points (6.63%) from the previous day at 6,012.44. The KOSDAQ rose 27.45 points (3.69%) to close at 771.28, and the won-dollar exchange rate rose 14.0 won to 1,337.7.

On October 28 in the KOSPI market, foreign investors net bought 815.8 billion won and institutions net bought 960.8 billion won, while individuals net sold 1.7766 trillion won. On the KOSDAQ, institutions net bought 223.9 billion won, while foreigners and individuals were net sellers.

In the US session on the 27th, the Dow closed at 52,377.57 (up 0.03%), the S&P 500 at 7,722.60 (up 0.60%), and the Nasdaq at 26,477.81 (up 1.18%). The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose 3.60%.

SK hynix announced on October 28 its 2026 third-quarter revenue of 104.6155 trillion won and operating profit of 83.3338 trillion won. Business Korea reported net income of 39.7756 trillion won, with revenue up 32% and operating profit up 38% from the previous quarter.

SK hynix CFO Kim Woo-hyun said on the third-quarter earnings call that long-term supply agreements (LTAs) secured cover more than 50% of total production in 2027 and 2028. LTAs are typically five years, and the company said it is discussing extending contract terms with some customers.

Enersys will acquire UltraLife in an all-cash deal at an enterprise value of about $320 million, including net debt, or $16 per share. The termination fee is $10.3 million, and completion is scheduled for the first quarter of 2027, according to the article.

Ari Bio Holdings has signed an agreement to acquire Greenplus. Combining the purchase of existing shares with participation in a third-party allotment rights offering, the total acquisition amount is 14.956 billion won, with the planned acquisition date set for December 8. It also includes the purchase of 3 billion won in convertible bonds.

Insurance technology company Guidewire agreed to acquire UK AI underwriting company Hyperexponential for $1.7 billion in cash. The deal is expected to close next year, and including up to $400 million in additional capital tied to revenue targets, the total comes to about $2 billion.

Kasap, which makes software for handling card disputes and chargebacks, raised a $56 million Series B. The round was led by Base10 Partners, with Synchrony and Experian joining as strategic investors, and total funding to date is $90 million.

Samsung Electronics DS division Vice President Kim Kyung-ryun said at Tech Summit 2026 that HBM will shift to co-designed products developed together with customers. 3D-stacked zHBM is expected to be commercialized from 2029, with a target of up to 8 times the performance of HBM5.

An official from the Ministry of Science and ICT said at the K-Open Source AX event that the goal is 1,500 trillion won in public-private investment in semiconductors, AI data centers, and physical AI to lift Korea into the top three in AI. Semiconductors account for more than 800 trillion won and AI data centers for 550 trillion won.

Daishin Securities said the names and account numbers of 38,490 customers were leaked. Bithumb reported unauthorized access to its internal groupware to KISA and the Personal Information Protection Commission, and financial authorities began on-site inspections of Daishin Securities and Bithumb.

GoDaddy said an attacker used an API to read profile and contact information of Websites + Marketing customers. No passwords were stolen and no account access occurred. According to the company, the incident took place on September 18 and was detected the following day.

Have I Been Pwned added the AfD leaked data on October 27. It includes about 345,000 email addresses, and AfD disclosed on October 20 both the leak and the fact that the data was accessible.

The KMCC imposed fines of 42.9 billion won on Google and 20.81 billion won on Apple at its plenary meeting on the 28th, and ordered corrective measures including halting prohibited conduct and improving procedures. It decided not to pursue criminal charges.

Iranian President Pezeshkian attended the Gas Exporting Countries Forum in Moscow on October 27 and held talks with Putin at the Kremlin. Putin said bilateral trade rose 10.4% in January-August this year, and Pezeshkian criticized unilateral US sanctions.

Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul and US Secretary of Defense Hegseth agreed at their first face-to-face meeting on the sidelines of the ADMM-Plus in Cebu, Philippines, to hold the 58th SCM in early 2027. They also agreed to hold a defense ministers' meeting in Washington in December and to cooperate on the transfer of wartime operational control.

Minister Kang Shin-chul held his first face-to-face talks with Japanese Defense Minister Koizumi in the Philippines. Both sides reaffirmed the importance of Korea-Japan and trilateral Korea-US-Japan security cooperation. Kang raised the explosion of North Korean landmines in the DMZ and deepening North Korea-Russia military cooperation.

According to an official who spoke to Reuters, a Qatari mediation team presented a draft to Iran. The draft includes daily confidence-building measures over seven days. Iranian officials said they welcome the negotiation efforts.

Matthew Holman found candidate 2026 ED138 in Rubin Observatory data. It lies about 46 au from the Sun with an estimated diameter of 600-1,500 km, and it has not yet been confirmed. It was detected 30 times between March and July this year.

A radio observation study using VLA and ALMA found that the cycle in which Betelgeuse's atmosphere changes into an egg shape matches a period of about 5.9 years. It was presented as the strongest evidence that the companion star Siwarha exists, but it is not confirmed.

A Polish research team published results from radiation sensors on a mannequin flown aboard Artemis I in Radiation Measurements. The lithium fluoride crystals matched plastic detectors in the intermediate energy range, but overestimated dose by about 30% in the higher range.

A Scientific Reports study concluded that hydrogen cyanide in comets is destroyed on impact and diluted in crater lakes, so very few comets delivered meaningful amounts to Earth. It said the share of comets that survived impact on Mars is about five times higher.

The KDCA and a research team from Seoul National University Bundang Hospital surveyed 49,651 inpatients at 21 hospitals and rated CRE as the top priority for infection control. The 30-day mortality rate for infected patients was 16.9% for CRE, and the median medical cost was 46 million won.

Starting January next year, 2.7 trillion won in National Health Insurance funds will be invested annually in regional and essential medicine, while annual spending will be reduced by 2.6 trillion won through lower fees for specimen tests and CT/MRI. The ministry plans to revise the related notice in November.

On October 28, cold wave advisories were issued for most of the country, and wind advisories were issued for parts of Jeju. Morning observations at 5 a.m. showed 4.3°C in Seoul, -1.2°C in Chuncheon, 3.7°C in Daejeon, 8.9°C in Busan, and 14.1°C in Jeju.

The Houthis claimed on the 27th that they struck Saudi Arabia's largest refinery, Ras Tanura, with ballistic missiles, but Saudi Arabia has not confirmed it. In Asian trading on the 28th, Brent rose $1.50 (1.32%) to $115.59, and WTI was at $101.37.

As of October 27 per KOBIS, the theatrical version of Chiikawa ranked first with 18,328 admissions (cumulative 2,286,583). Paradise Lost was second with 9,419 and Tazza third with 9,281, and the gap between the two was 138 admissions.

Plave's fifth mini album, Hyperdrive, entered the Billboard 200 at No. 31 on the chart dated October 31, surpassing the previous best of No. 145. According to Hanteo Chart, first-week sales were about 1.32 million copies, above the roughly 1.25 million of the previous album.

The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Milwaukee Brewers 4-3 in 12 innings in Game 4 of the World Series at Tropicana Field. Milwaukee had led the series 3-0, and Game 5 is scheduled for 8 p.m. Eastern Time on the 28th.