Korea Today.zip Nov 4: KOSPI Recovers From a 4% Intraday Drop as Coupang Posts a Loss

South Korea's stock market took buyers on a wild ride on Wednesday, November 4, 2026. The benchmark KOSPI index slid as much as about 4% during the session, then turned around in the afternoon to close 0.62% higher at 5,683.80. The same day, e-commerce company Coupang reported a third-quarter operating loss despite higher sales, Hyundai Motor Group showed a new building block for large hydrogen plants, and a consumer dispute panel ordered Mercedes-Benz Korea to compensate electric-car buyers who were misled about their batteries.

This briefing walks through each story, explains the numbers and terms, and ends with what to watch next. Won amounts are converted at about 1,341.5 won per dollar, the Seoul market reference rate at 3:30 p.m. on November 4, unless another rate is noted.

Stocks: a 400-point swing in one day

The KOSPI, which tracks the stocks listed on the main board of the Korea Exchange, closed up 35.01 points, or 0.62%, at 5,683.80. The KOSDAQ, Korea's market for smaller and younger growth companies, rose 1.50% to 714.95.

The path to that finish was anything but smooth. The KOSPI opened at 5,786.13 and climbed to 5,828.13 early in the day. It then reversed and fell as low as 5,421.72, about 4% below the previous day's close of 5,648.79. The gap between the day's high and low was more than 400 points. By the close, the index had recovered all of that drop and more.

Korean media reported that news of Democratic gains in the U.S. midterm elections added to the volatility during the session. Foreign investors net sold more than 2.5 trillion won (about $1.9 billion) of shares on the main board, while individual investors and domestic institutions were net buyers. Reports said buying by institutions, including the national pension fund, helped lift the market in the afternoon. On the KOSDAQ, battery and chip-equipment stocks led the gains, according to press reports.

Net selling: when investors sell more shares than they buy over a period. Foreign net selling of 2.5 trillion won means foreigners sold that much more than they bought on the day.

Coupang: more sales, but an operating loss

Coupang, the company behind South Korea's Rocket Delivery service, is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and reports in U.S. dollars, even though most of its business is in Korea. For the third quarter ended September 30, it reported revenue of $9.96 billion, up 7% from a year earlier and up 11% at constant exchange rates. Korean media, using the quarter's average rate of 1,427.52 won per dollar, put revenue at about 14.22 trillion won.

Profit moved the other way. Coupang posted an operating loss of $450 million (about 642.3 billion won), compared with an operating profit of $162 million a year earlier. The company booked $248 million in losses tied to a July fire that badly damaged a leased fulfillment center in Incheon. Even excluding the fire, the operating loss was $202 million. Gross margin fell to 25.7%, down 3.64 percentage points, and operating, general and administrative expenses rose 17.7%, much faster than sales.

Customers, however, kept coming. Product Commerce active customers rose 2% to 25.2 million. In short, more people shopped, but Coupang kept less from each sale.

Operating income: revenue minus the cost of goods and the expenses of running the business. It leaves out interest and currency gains or losses, so it shows how profitable the core business is.

Hyundai: a 5MW building block for hydrogen plants

Hyundai Motor Group, the group that includes Hyundai Motor and Kia, is exhibiting at World Hydrogen Expo 2026 at the KINTEX convention center in Goyang, just northwest of Seoul, through November 6. There it showed for the first time how it combines 12 PEM electrolysis stacks into a single 5-megawatt electrolyzer stack module.

According to the group, one module can produce about 700 tons of hydrogen a year, and several modules can be placed side by side to build plants of several hundred megawatts. Hyundai already runs a 1-megawatt containerized test facility in Gwangju and is pursuing more test projects in Boryeong, Buan and Jeju. It also unveiled a commercial-vehicle fuel cell system built for long-haul durability.

Electrolysis: using electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. When the power comes from renewable sources, the hydrogen can be made with very little carbon emitted.

Mercedes-Benz Korea: 4 million won per buyer

The Consumer Dispute Settlement Commission at the Korea Consumer Agency, a government-funded consumer protection body, ordered Mercedes-Benz Korea to pay 4 million won (about $2,980) to each of 142 buyers of five electric models: the EQE 500 4MATIC SUV, EQE 53 4MATIC+, EQE 350+, EQE 350 4MATIC and EQS 350.

The panel found that the company's sales guide for dealers presented the cars as if they used battery cells from CATL, the world's largest battery maker, while some cars actually carried cells from China's Farasis, and that dealer staff were trained to use that guide. In setting the amount, the panel weighed how central batteries are to an electric car's performance and safety, the gap in reputation between the two suppliers, and the likely drop in resale value after a 2024 fire involving a Mercedes electric car in an Incheon apartment garage.

Mercedes-Benz Korea has 15 days after receiving the written decision to respond. If each party accepts, the decision has the same force as a settlement reached in court. If Mercedes-Benz Korea accepts, the commission plans to take steps, including requesting a compensation plan, so that affected consumers who did not participate in the mediation can receive the same compensation.

Collective dispute mediation: a Korean process in which at least 50 consumers with the same kind of harm file together. The result binds the parties only if they accept it.

What to watch next

First, the final U.S. midterm results and whether foreign investors keep selling Korean stocks at this pace. Second, whether Coupang's costs start rising more slowly than its sales. Third, whether Mercedes-Benz Korea accepts the panel's decision within the 15-day window.

Key takeaways

The KOSPI dropped about 4% during the day and still closed up 0.62%. Coupang grew sales but swung to a $450 million operating loss, Hyundai Motor Group unveiled a 5MW electrolyzer module, and Mercedes-Benz Korea was ordered to pay 4 million won to each of 142 buyers.

Source: Korea Exchange, Coupang, Hyundai Motor Group, Korea Consumer Agency