Korea / Special Situations, Clepsydra Capital

Sanghyun Park

Korea / Special Situations

Korea / Special Sits, Pairs, Index Rebalancing

Clepsydra Capital

Investigate special situations, pairs, and index rebalancing trades in Korea.

Event-Driven

<ul>
<li>Lee slammed NPS’s logic, questioning its local equity cuts; Friday, the fund responded with ₩186.3bn net KOSPI buys — biggest since his inauguration.</li>
<li>NPS sat out September’s rally, so Friday’s ₩186bn KOSPI buy looks like a reactive pivot to Lee’s comments, sparking local desks’ chatter and weekend buzz.</li>
<li>KOSPI mid-caps with big NPS stakes (~5%+) could see short-term buying, as reactive flows follow Presidential Office chatter, with mid-caps below KRW 5tn offering the biggest price impact.</li>
</ul>


Lee slammed NPS’s logic, questioning its local equity cuts; Friday, the fund responded with ₩186.3bn net KOSPI buys — biggest since his inauguration.
NPS sat out September’s rally, so Friday’s ₩186bn KOSPI buy looks like a reactive pivot to Lee’s comments, sparking local desks’ chatter and weekend buzz.
KOSPI mid-caps with big NPS stakes (~5%+) could see short-term buying, as reactive flows follow Presidential Office chatter, with mid-caps below KRW 5tn offering the biggest price impact.


How Do We Play the Short-Term Buy Flows Sparked by NPS Reacting Fast to the President’s Subtle Push?

Korea/Asia, Events, IPOs, Douglas Research Advisory

Douglas Kim

Korea/Asia, Events, IPOs

Douglas Research Advisory

Cross Asset Strategy

<ul>
<li>Now that Lee Jae-Myung has become new South Korean President, the uncertainty revolving who will lead South Korea in the next five years is now over.</li>
<li>In this insight, we discuss four investment themes (related to Lee Jae-Myung becoming the new South Korean President) that could outperform the market for the remainder of 2025.</li>
<li>The four investment themes include Korean Holdcos/Quasi Holdcos, Korean Cultural Contents, Securities, and SK Group Companies.</li>
</ul>


Now that Lee Jae-Myung has become new South Korean President, the uncertainty revolving who will lead South Korea in the next five years is now over.
In this insight, we discuss four investment themes (related to Lee Jae-Myung becoming the new South Korean President) that could outperform the market for the remainder of 2025.
The four investment themes include Korean Holdcos/Quasi Holdcos, Korean Cultural Contents, Securities, and SK Group Companies.


Lee Jae-Myung Becomes the New South Korean President - Four Investment Themes That Could Outperform

Equity Capital Markets

<ul>
<li>On 5 June, Shift Up announced that it will be postponing its IPO to July. The original book building period for the institutional investors was from 3 to 13 June.  </li>
<li>The final book building date has been postponed to 27 June. The subsequent public offering subscription for general investors was also postponed to 2 to 3 July.</li>
<li><em><strong>A major investment positive of Shift Up is enormous initial success of Stellar Blade which was the best selling game in the U.S. and numerous other countries in April 2024. </strong></em></li>
</ul>


On 5 June, Shift Up announced that it will be postponing its IPO to July. The original book building period for the institutional investors was from 3 to 13 June.  
The final book building date has been postponed to 27 June. The subsequent public offering subscription for general investors was also postponed to 2 to 3 July.
A major investment positive of Shift Up is enormous initial success of Stellar Blade which was the best selling game in the U.S. and numerous other countries in April 2024. 


Shift Up Delays the IPO and Stellar Blade Tops Number One Game in the US in April

Pan-Asia Index Rebalances/ Events/ Delta One, Periscope Analytics

Brian Freitas

Pan-Asia Index Rebalances/ Events/ Delta One

Periscope Analytics

Periscope Analytics focuses on event-driven trades across Asia Pacific and provides comprehensive, timely and systematic coverage of index changes to major Asia Pacific indices in a structured manner.

The analysis includes forecasted inclusions and exclusions to all major Asian indices that have significant amount of tracking assets, including estimates of passive buy/sell flow on the stocks. The service also provides commentary and impact of market consultations, ground rule changes, and other events (IPOs, spin-offs, M&A) that could lead to index changes and passive flow.

Periscope Analytics works with multi-strategy hedge funds, proprietary trading firms, stat arb trading groups and long-only investors that invest and trade in the Asia Pacific region with the data being used to trade index rebalances, avoid pre-positioning and passive flow, and to time entry into and exit from stocks.

Event-Driven Trades Across Asia Pacific

<ul>
<li>Following the short sell ban announced on the weekend, the <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/korea-stock-exchange-kospi-200" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:26021:1" rel="noopener">KOSPI 200</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/kosdaq-150-index" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:31077:1" rel="noopener">KOSDAQ 150</a> opened higher on Monday and rallied through the day.</li>
<li>A lot of the intraday gains on Monday have been given up over the next two trading days. Surprisingly, KRX data indicates that not a lot of shorts have covered.</li>
<li>Foreigners have been net cash buyers since Monday (could indicate covering of offshore borrow) while retail were big sellers on Monday.</li>
</ul>


Following the short sell ban announced on the weekend, the KOSPI 200 and KOSDAQ 150 opened higher on Monday and rallied through the day.
A lot of the intraday gains on Monday have been given up over the next two trading days. Surprisingly, KRX data indicates that not a lot of shorts have covered.
Foreigners have been net cash buyers since Monday (could indicate covering of offshore borrow) while retail were big sellers on Monday.


Korea Short Sell Ban: Not a Lot Covered on Monday; Shorts Holding On?

Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li>In this insight, we provide the top 10 stock picks and key catalysts in the Korean stock market for the next two weeks (21 November to 5 December 2025).</li>
<li>Our top 10 picks in the past two weeks (7 to 21 November) were up on average 1.4% this period, outperforming KOSPI which was down 2.5% in the same period.</li>
<li>Our top 10 picks in the next two weeks include LG CNS, Hana Financial, Orion Corp, KT&amp;G, Naver, KEPCO E&amp;C, Hanmi Pharm, Amorepacific Corp, LG Chem (Pref), and SK Inc. </li>
</ul>


In this insight, we provide the top 10 stock picks and key catalysts in the Korean stock market for the next two weeks (21 November to 5 December 2025).
Our top 10 picks in the past two weeks (7 to 21 November) were up on average 1.4% this period, outperforming KOSPI which was down 2.5% in the same period.
Our top 10 picks in the next two weeks include LG CNS, Hana Financial, Orion Corp, KT&amp;G, Naver, KEPCO E&amp;C, Hanmi Pharm, Amorepacific Corp, LG Chem (Pref), and SK Inc. 


Top 10 Korean Stock Picks and Key Catalysts Bi-Weekly 21 November to 5 December 2025)

South Korea

NCSOFT Corporation develops and markets on-line games that enable users to play over the Internet and computer software, such as web editing software.  The Company also designs and constructs databases, Intranet, and commercial Internet access systems.

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NCSOFT Corp (036570 KS)

How Do We Play the Short-Term Buy Flows Sparked by NPS Reacting Fast to the President’s Subtle Push?

This post looks into how to trade the short-term buy flows triggered by NPS’s quick reaction to the President’s subtle signal.

Sanghyun Park

Lee Jae-Myung Becomes the New South Korean President - Four Investment Themes That Could Outperform

In this insight, we discuss four investment themes (related to Lee Jae-Myung becoming the new South Korean President) that could outperform the...

Douglas Kim

Shift Up Delays the IPO and Stellar Blade Tops Number One Game in the US in April

Shift Up announced that it will be postponing its IPO to July. A major investment positive is the enormous initial success of Stellar Blade which...

Douglas Kim

Korea Short Sell Ban: Not a Lot Covered on Monday; Shorts Holding On?

Not a lot of shorts were covered on Monday. There could be more covering in the near term as the market drifts lower. KOSPI200 underperformed...

Brian Freitas

Top 10 Korean Stock Picks and Key Catalysts Bi-Weekly 21 November to 5 December 2025)

In this insight, we provide the top 10 stock picks and key catalysts in the Korean stock market for the next two weeks (21 November to 5 December...

Douglas Kim

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52-week Range

Market Cap (USDm)

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