S. Korean brokerage firms pocket jaw-dropping earnings in 2025 on market rally
South Korea's major brokerage houses racked up record earnings last year on the back of a bull run on the local stock market, industry data showed on Sunday.
The combined net profit of the country's 27 securities firms is estimated at 10.23 trillion won (US$7.03 billion) for 2025, sharply up from the previous year's 6.97 trillion won, reports Yonhap news agency.
Korea Investment & Securities Co. posted the biggest net income of 2.01 trillion won last year, up 79 per cent from a year earlier, followed by Mirae Asset Securities Co. with 1.59 trillion won in net profit.
Kiwoom Investment & Securities Co. reported a net profit of 1.12 trillion won, while NH Investment & Securities Co. and Samsung Securities Co. posted a net profit of 1.03 trillion won and 1.01 trillion won, respectively.
Their stellar performances were partly driven by commission fees from increased trading of local stocks by retail investors.
The average daily turnover of the local stock market stood at 16.9 trillion won in 2025, marking a whopping 57 percent spike from a year before, according to the data.
The brokerage firms are tipped to log a further rise in their bottom lines as the daily turnover is widely expected to further increase.
Analysts believe the daily turnover may reach as high as 45 trillion won this year as the country's stock market is on an upward trajectory.
The country's key stock index, the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), surged over 75 per cent last year and advanced around 30 percent so far this year.
In January alone, the average daily turnover reached 62 trillion won, the data showed.
Meanwhile, South Korea's main bourse operator said its value-up index rose to an all-time high at the end of last month.
The Korea Exchange's (KRX) value-up index came to 2,330.7 as of end-January, up 134.9 per cent from the index's introduction on Sept. 30, 2024. It outperformed the broader benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), which rose 101.5 per cent during the cited period, the bourse operator said in a release.
The value-up index comprises 100 companies that demonstrate strong performance in a range of qualitative metrics, such as profitability and shareholder returns.
