South Korea shares retreat on AI concerns, set for longer trading hours

South Korean shares experienced a decline on Monday following remarks from Anthropic PBC and OpenAI regarding the need to slow artificial intelligence development. The Korean won strengthened, and the benchmark bond yield decreased. The KOSPI index closed 2.01% lower at 6,770.95. Tech giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix also saw a drop in their stocks.

In response to growing concerns about AI misuse, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei proposed a three-step framework to regulate development and allow more time to manage risks. Starting September 14, South Korea's main stock exchange, Korea Exchange, will offer after-hours trading from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. local time, mirroring a similar move by Nextrade.

Among other significant stocks, LG Energy Solution fell 1.25%, while Hyundai Motor and Kia Corp dropped 2.75% and 1.90%, respectively. POSCO Holdings saw a 2.54% decrease, while Samsung BioLogics rose by 1.20%. Out of 913 traded issues, 332 shares increased, while 539 declined, with foreign investors netting a sell-off of 2,284.8 billion won.

The won was trading at 1,344.0 per dollar, up 0.01% from the previous close. The KOSPI has risen 60.67% this year, and the won has strengthened 7.1% against the dollar. In money and debt markets, September futures for three-year treasury bonds climbed by 0.01 point to 102.66, and the 10-year yield fell by 4.7 basis points to 4.524%.