Equity-Linked Securities Issuance Falls 41.7 Percent From Prior Half but Rises 27.7 Percent From Year Earlier

Issuance of equity-linked securities, including equity-linked bonds, totaled 27.7 trillion won ($18.7 billion) in the first half of 2026. That figure marked a 41.7 percent decline from the previous six-month period but rose 27.7 percent compared with January through June 2025, Yonhap reported citing the Korea Securities Depositary Corp.

Equity-linked securities are hybrid debt instruments whose returns track the performance of underlying equities, often benchmark indexes such as the KOSPI 200. Yonhap attributed the drop to volatility in stock markets and tensions in the Middle East. The benchmark KOSPI index reached 9,000 points in June before declining in subsequent weeks.