South Korea\'s brokerage industry is pursuing voluntary investor protection measures for single-stock leveraged exchange-traded funds, including raising basic margin deposits and strengthening investor education. The Korea Financial Investment Association said it reviewed market conditions and protection steps at an emergency meeting with executives from major securities firms. Participants discussed potential market impact from daily rebalancing and considered dispersing trading times. They also plan tailored risk warnings and closer monitoring of trading trends.

Naver and Kakao are expected to post their best-ever second-quarter sales and operating profit, but both are struggling to gain market traction as their share prices remain weak. Naver hit a 52-week high last month before falling to a fresh 52-week low, while Kakao saw broker target prices cut despite an expected jump in operating profit. Analysts say the market is weighing the lack of clear, measurable AI business contributions, making second-half AI performance the key focus.