The puck that Hughes smacked into the net in overtime to give the United States its first men’s Olympic hockey gold since the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” was seemingly forgotten amid the raucous celebration.
But this week, the Hockey Hall of Fame began displaying that puck along with the one Megan Keller knocked into the net in overtime to give the U.S. women’s team gold in Milan. The International Ice Hockey Federation apparently secured the frozen vulcanized rubber disks immediately after the games and handed them to the Hall of Fame located in Toronto.
Hughes is happy “his” puck surfaced but believes he is the rightful owner of a piece of memorabilia that David Kohler, president of SCP Auctions, estimated might be worth $1 million.
“I don’t see why Megan Keller or I shouldn’t have those pucks,” Hughes told ESPN. “I’m trying to get it. Like, that’s [B.S.] that the Hockey Hall of Fame has it, in my opinion. Why would they have that puck?”
Hughes might not like the answer. The provenance of the puck is similar to that of a basketball or football used in a notable moment. It is dissimilar to a historic home run because a baseball leaves the field of play, and the owner becomes the fortunate fan.
“Because of the increasing value of memorabilia, ownership of items has become standardized over the last decade or so,” said an expert who agreed to speak anonymously because they work in the acquisition of such items. “Whoever purchased the puck owns it. Jerseys belong to the team, shoes and gloves to the player, the puck to whoever supplied it to the Olympics.”
That would be the International Ice Hockey Federation, the governing body of the Olympics hockey tournament. The IIHF employees who immediately secured those precious pucks amid gold-medal bedlam apparently did their job well.
“The puck was designated for archival preservation with the Hockey Hall of Fame to ensure its long-term safekeeping and historical recognition,” an IIHF spokesperson said.
The pucks are featured in an “Olympics ‘26” display that also contains a hockey stick used by Brady Tkachuk of the U.S. team and a U.S. jersey worn by four-time Olympian Hilary Knight.
It might strike some as odd that the display is in Canada, where fans are mourning the loss to the United States, but that’s been the location of the Hall of Fame since it was established in 1943. HOF president Jamie Dinsmore said in a statement that the display contains “donated items,” although it is unclear whether the IIHF has donated or merely loaned the pucks to the HOF.
“The Olympics ’26 display will help ensure that these unforgettable Olympic moments are preserved for our guests from around the world to experience,” Dinsmore said.
Meanwhile, Hughes told ESPN he wants the puck to become the property of one particular fan — his father, who collects memorabilia for him and his brothers Quinn and Luke. All three play in the NHL.
“I wouldn’t even want it for myself. I’d want it for my dad. I know he’d just love, love having it,” Hughes said. “When I look back in my career, I don’t collect too many things for myself, but my dad’s a monster collector for the three of us. I know he would have a special place for it.”
Or it could be sold at auction, where certainly it would pay for any dental work Hughes needs after getting teeth knocked out during the gold-medal game. Various auction houses have estimated the value of the puck to be from $40,000 to $1 million.
Should he acquire the puck, though, Hughes might not even consider selling it. The first pick of the 2019 NHL draft, he signed an eight-year, $64 million contract extension with the New Jersey Devils four years ago.
A signboard at a gas station in Seoul shows gasoline and diesel prices in Seoul, South Korea, File. Photo by YONHAP / EPA
March 12 (Asia Today) — South Korea will impose a temporary price cap on petroleum products starting Friday, setting the first ceiling for gasoline at 1,724 won ($1.29) per liter as the government moves to curb surging fuel prices.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Thursday the “petroleum product maximum price system” will take effect at midnight and apply to fuel prices supplied by refiners to gas stations and distributors.
The first price caps are set at 1,724 won ($1.29) per liter for gasoline, 1,713 won ($1.28) for automotive diesel and 1,320 won ($0.99) for kerosene.
The measure will remain in place for two weeks through March 26 and will be reviewed every two weeks based on fluctuations in global petroleum product prices.
The government said the caps are significantly lower than the average supply prices submitted by refiners on Tuesday. At that time gasoline averaged 1,833 won ($1.37) per liter, diesel 1,931 won ($1.45) and kerosene 1,728 won ($1.30).
Compared with those levels the new caps are lower by 109 won for gasoline, 218 won for diesel and 408 won for kerosene.
Officials said the policy aims to quickly slow the recent surge in oil prices and ease instability in the fuel market.
The price cap will apply only to wholesale supply prices set by refiners rather than the retail prices at individual gas stations. Officials expect pump prices to gradually decline as stations adjust prices once lower-cost fuel enters inventories.
Price changes typically appear two to three days after new supply prices take effect, depending on station inventories, the ministry said.
If refiners incur losses because of the price caps the government plans to compensate them through a post-settlement system. Refiners will submit loss estimates which will be verified through accounting reviews before quarterly compensation payments are made.
Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jeong-gwan said the policy would allow limited price adjustments in line with international fuel price trends while preventing excessive increases that diverge from global markets.
When Jeff Bryant was playing high school basketball at Sylmar, the top teams in the City Section were annually among the best in California.
“The City dominated back in the day,” Bryant, now the head coach at Palisades, said Tuesday before Southern California Regional Division II boys’ basketball final. His Dolphins lost a heartbreaker, 59-57 at Bakersfield Christian, falling a win short of a trip to Sacramento for the state finals.
Eleven days earlier Palisades captured the City Open Division crown, going undefeated against section opponents, and with 10 players — including all five starters — returning next season, Bryant not only has his sights set on a repeat, he wants to reverse a 15-year trend during which City teams have struggled to compete at the highest level.
City boys teams won the state’s top division five times in six years from 1993-98 and seven times in nine years from 2002-10. However, since the Open Division debuted in 2013 only two City teams have advanced to the regional finals in that division — Westchester in 2014 and Fairfax in 2015 — and the last time a City team made the Open bracket was five years ago when Birmingham lost in the first round.
Bryant, who graduated in 2006, will be rooting for his former coach on Friday when his alma mater plays for the Division V state championship under the guidance of Bort Escoto, who piloted the Spartans to the City Division II title on the same night Palisades won the Open Division. Sylmar was dropped down to Division V for regionals and ran the table.
Birmingham was upset by Fairfax in the opening round of the City Open Division playoffs Feb. 11 and dropped to Division III for the regional tournament. The Patriots have since reeled off four convincing victories and will also play for a state title Friday afternoon.
Birmingham and Sylmar are the latest City teams to benefit from regional playoff expansion in which teams are placed several divisions lower from where they played in their section. Chatsworth advanced to the Division II state final last winter after losing in the City Open Division final and reached the Division IV state final after its City Open semifinal loss two years ago. Like Sylmar this season, Verdugo Hills was the City Division II champion in 2024 and went on to play for the Division V state title.
On the girls’ side, no City squad has won an Open Division state playoff game. Five teams from the section have received berths in the highest division over the last 14 years, but none since Fairfax in 2018. Narbonne is the last City team to conquer the state’s top division, claiming back-to-back Division I titles in 2000 and 2001, long before the Open debuted.
Like the boys, City girls’ teams fare well when dropped to lower divisions.
Palisades, which fell in the first round in the City Open Division, plays for the state Division IV crown Saturday while City Open Division champion Westchester was seeded 14th in Division I for regionals and lost in the first round. Granada Hills went to the Division III state finals two years ago after losing in the first round of the City’s Open Division.
Before taking the helm at Palisades, Bryant guided West Ranch of the Southern Section into the Open Division regional playoffs in 2023. Now he aims to do the same at a school in the section he once played in.
REALITY TV star Paul Preece Jr who won the Netflix survival show Outlast has been charged with raping a child.
The 51-year-old was arrested in Tennessee on Friday and booked into Knox County Jail.
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Paul Preece Jr, winner of Netflix show Outlast, has been charged with child rapeCredit: NetflixJail records show Preece is being held on a $150,000 bondCredit: JIMS
Jail records show Preece has also been charged with aggravated sexual battery and attempted rape of a child, The Daily Mail reports.
The age of the victim has not yet been released.
Preece is currently being held on a $150,000 bond and will be required to wear a GPS tracker upon release.
His arrest comes after a capias warrant was issued, according to TMZ.
The court-ordered warrant is typically used when a person fails to appear in court, violates bond conditions, or neglects to pay court-ordered fines or child support.
Preece rose to prominence after competing on the first season of Outlast in 2023.
The gruelling reality show sees a group of contestants trying to survive remote Alaskan terrain in punishing conditions for a chance at a $1 million prize.
Sixteen participants are dropped by parachute into the wilderness before being divided into teams.
Most read in Entertainment
Season one was filmed on the Neka River on Chichagof Island, while series two moved south of Petersburg to Little Duncan Bay.
Unlike many competition shows, contestants cannot compete alone.
Participants are allowed to switch teams throughout the competition.
The only way to leave the game is to quit.
Preece won the inaugural season alongside teammates Seth Lueker and Nick Radner.
Season two landed in the Global Top 10 in 22 countries.
Two Texas men, Drake Vliem II and Drew Haas, won the million-dollar pay-out in the second series.
The series was renewed for a third season in February 2025.
Preece won the first series of Outlast – bagging $1 million with his teammatesCredit: Netflix
A driver refuels a vehicle at a gas station in Seoul on Saturday as global oil prices rise amid instability in the Middle East. According to the Korea National Oil Corporation’s Opinet system, the nationwide average gasoline price was 1,893.3 won ($1.41) per liter at 9 a.m., up 3.9 won from the previous day. Diesel averaged 1,915.4 won ($1.43) per liter, up 4.8 won. Photo by Asia Today
March 8 (Asia Today) — Gasoline prices in South Korea are approaching 2,000 won per liter as rising global oil prices linked to tensions in the Middle East push fuel costs higher, prompting debate over additional government tax cuts.
According to the oil price monitoring system operated by the Korea National Oil Corporation, the nationwide average gasoline price stood at 1,889.40 won ($1.41) per liter as of Friday.
In Seoul, the average price reached 1,941.71 won ($1.45) per liter, nearing the psychologically significant 2,000 won ($1.49) level and increasing pressure on consumers.
Fuel prices typically reflect international oil market changes with a delay of about two to three weeks. However, the recent sharp increase has raised expectations that the government may expand existing fuel tax reductions.
The government has already extended temporary tax cuts through the end of April. Gasoline currently benefits from a 7% fuel tax reduction, while diesel and liquefied petroleum gas butane receive 10% reductions.
Fuel taxes are one of the government’s most direct tools to ease inflation, as adjustments can quickly influence consumer prices.
South Korea previously expanded fuel tax cuts during earlier energy price surges. In 2022, when oil prices spiked following the Russia-Ukraine war, the government increased the reduction rate from about 30% to the legal maximum of 37%.
Officials are reportedly reviewing whether additional tax reductions are needed. Because fuel tax rates are set by enforcement decree, the government can implement changes relatively quickly after approval at a Cabinet meeting.
Bae Jun-young of the conservative People Power Party said fuel tax cuts should be expanded to provide meaningful relief for consumers.
“If tensions in the Middle East persist, the government should also consider raising the ceiling on the flexible fuel tax rate,” Bae said.
This photo, taken Thursday, shows the trading room of Hana Bank in central Seoul after the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index soared almost 10 percent to close at 5,583.9, snapping a three-session losing streak. Photo by Yonhap
South Korean stocks sharply rebounded on Thursday from the previous session’s sharpest decline ever, soaring almost 10 percent, amid signs of an easing oil price surge sparked by the ongoing Iran conflict. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar.
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 490.36 points, or 9.63 percent, to close at 5,583.9, snapping the three-session losing streak.
It marked the largest daily gain in terms of points in KOSPI history, renewing the previous record of 338.41 points set on Feb. 3.
Also, the 9.63 percent rise is the second steepest since Oct. 30, 2008, when the index rose 11.95 percent in the midst of the global financial crisis.
The country’s main bourse operator, the Korea Exchange (KRX), issued a buy-side sidecar around opening, suspending the selling of KOSPI futures for five minutes.
Trade volume was heavy at 1.6 billion shares worth 44.8 trillion won (US$30.5 billion), with gainers sharply beating decliners 898 to 21.
Individual investors drove the steep rally, scooping up a net 1.79 trillion won, while foreigners and institutions sold a net 144.6 billion won and 1.7 trillion won, respectively.
“The KOSPI experienced the sharpest decline in history and dropped near the 5,000-point line the previous day,” Roh Dong-gil, an analyst at Shinhan Securities, said. “Bargain hunters returned to the market to pull off a turnaround.”
Overnight on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.49 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.29 percent on calmed oil price hikes.
In Seoul, market heavyweights led the rally.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics surged 11.27 percent to 191,600 won, and chip giant SK hynix soared 10.84 percent to 941,000 won.
Top carmaker Hyundai Motor escalated 9.38 percent to 548,000 won, and its sister Kia jumped 6.19 percent to 166,400 won.
Defense shares were among the biggest winners as industry leader Hanwha Aerospace vaulted 4.38 percent to 1.38 million won and LIG Nex1 shot up 23.26 percent to 763,000 won.
Shinhan Financial Group rose 4.62 percent to 92,900 won, and internet giant Naver advanced 5.77 percent to 220,000 won.
Samsung Biologics, a leading pharmaceutical firm, mounted 8.64 percent to 1.65 million won, and entertainment giant CJ ENM increased 5.91 percent to 64,500 won.
The Korean won was quoted at 1,468.1 won against the U.S. dollar at 3:30 p.m., up 8.1 won from the previous session.
Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The yield on three-year Treasurys fell 3.4 basis points to 3.189 percent, and the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds declined 3.5 basis points to 3.442 percent.
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This photo taken on Tuesday shows the trading room of Hana Bank in central Seoul, with the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index down 7 percent to close below the 5,800-point mark. Photo by Yonhap
South Korean stocks plunged more than 7 percent Tuesday to close below the 5,800-point mark as investor sentiment was dampened by escalating geopolitical concerns triggered by the ongoing Middle East conflict. The Korean won lost sharply against the U.S. dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) tumbled 452.22 points, or 7.24 percent, to close at 5,791.91, marking the lowest closing price since Feb. 20, when the index finished at 5,808.53.
It marked the largest-ever daily drop.
The country’s main bourse operator, the Korea Exchange (KRX), issued a sell-side sidecar for 5 minutes around noon, suspending the selling of KOSPI futures.
Trade volume was heavy at 1.2 billion shares worth 52.5 trillion won (US$35.8 billion). Losers sharply outnumbered winners 840 to 73.
Foreign and institutional investors led the daily sell-off, dumping a net 5.1 trillion won and 891.1 billion won, respectively. Retail investors, on the other hand, went bargain hunting and snapped up a net 5.8 trillion won.
Coordinated U.S. and Israeli air strikes on Iran over the weekend roiled global markets from the start of this week, but the Korean market closed on Monday in observation of the March 1 Independence Movement Day holiday.
“The main index experienced expanded volatility as the Middle East risk was realized after a long weekend,” Roh Dong-gil, an analyst at Shinhan Securities, said. “The stock market is expected to be affected by oil prices and interest rates as the situation develops.”
Most shares closed bearish.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics tumbled 9.88 percent to 195,100 won, and its chipmaking rival SK hynix plummeted 11.5 percent to 939,000 won.
Top automaker Hyundai Motor dived 11.72 percent to 595,000 won, and leading battery maker LG Energy Solution sank 7.96 percent to 393,000 won.
Travel shares were among the biggest losers as flag air carrier Korean Air nosedived 10.32 percent to 25,200 won and major travel agency Hana Tour Service lost 6.65 percent to 44,900 won.
KB Financial Group, a leading banking group, fell 3.46 percent to 153,500 won, and Celltrion, a major pharmaceutical firm, dropped 5.66 percent to 225,000 won.
However, oil refinery and defense shares were bullish.
Leading refinery firm SK Innovation rose 2.51 percent to 130,900 won, and S-Oil, whose largest shareholder is Saudi Aramco, shot up 28.45 percent to 141,300 won.
Defense giant Hanwha Aerospace soared 19.83 percent to 1.43 million won, and LIG Nex1 surged 29.86 percent to 661,000 won.
The Korean won was quoted at 1,466.1 won against the U.S. dollar at 3:30 p.m., down 26.4 won from the previous session’s close. It marked the lowest since Feb. 6, when the won-dollar rate was 1,469.5 won.
Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed sharply lower. The yield on three-year Treasurys increased 13.9 basis points to 3.180 percent, and the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds declined 14.6 basis points to 3.424 percent.
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The morning after Netflix clinched its deal to buy Warner Bros., Paramount Skydance Chairman David Ellison assembled a war room of trusted advisors, including his billionaire father, Larry Ellison.
Furious at Warner Bros. Discovery Chief David Zaslav for ending the auction, the Ellisons and their team began plotting their comeback on that crisp December day.
To rattle Warner Bros. Discovery and its investors, they launched a three-front campaign: a lawsuit, a hostile takeover bid and direct lobbying of the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress.
“There was a master battle plan — and it was extremely disciplined,” said one auction insider who was not authorized to comment publicly.
Netflix stunned the industry late Thursday by pulling out of the bidding, clearing the way for Paramount to claim the company that owns HBO, HBO Max, CNN, TBS, Food Network and the Warner Bros. film and television studios in Burbank. The deal was valued at more than $111 billion.
The streaming giant’s reversal came just hours after co-Chief Executive Ted Sarandos met with Atty Gen. Pam Bondi and a deputy at the White House. It was a cordial session, but the Trump officials told Sarandos that his deal was facing significant hurdles in Washington, according to a person close to the administration who was not authorized to comment publicly.
“Netflix played their cards well; however, Paramount played their cards perfectly,” said Jonathan Miller, chief executive of Integrated Media Co. “They did exactly what they had to do and when they had to do it — which was at the very last moment.”
Key to victory was Larry Ellison, his $200-billion fortune and his connections to President Trump and congressional Republicans.
Paramount also hired Trump’s former antitrust chief, attorney Makan Delrahim, to quarterback the firm’s legal and regulatory action.
Republicans during a Senate hearing this month piled onto Sarandos with complaints about potential monopolistic practices and “woke” programming.
David Ellison skipped that hearing. This week, however, he attended Trump’s State of the Union address in the Capitol chambers, a guest of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). The two men posed, grinning and giving a thumbs-up, for a photo that was posted to Graham’s X account.
David Ellison, the chairman and chief executive of Paramount Skydance Corp., walks through Statuary Hall to the State of the Union address at the U.S. Capitol on Feb. 24, 2026.
(Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images)
On Friday, Netflix said it had received a $2.8-billion payment — a termination fee Paramount agreed to pay to send Netflix on its way.
Long before David Ellison and his family acquired Paramount and CBS last summer, the 43-year-old tech scion and aircraft pilot already had his sights set on Warner Bros. Discovery.
Paramount’s assets, including MTV, Nickelodeon and the Melrose Avenue movie studio, have been fading. Ellison recognized he needed the more robust company — Warner Bros. Discovery — to achieve his ambitions.
“From the very beginning, our pursuit of Warner Bros. Discovery has been guided by a clear purpose: to honor the legacy of two iconic companies while accelerating our vision of building a next-generation media and entertainment company,” David Ellison said in a Friday statement. “We couldn’t be more excited for what’s ahead.”
Warner’s chief, Zaslav, who had initially opposed the Paramount bid, added: “We look forward to working with Paramount to complete this historic transaction.”
Netflix, in a separate statement, said it was unwilling to go beyond its $82.7-billion proposal that Warner board members accepted Dec. 4.
“We believe we would have been strong stewards of Warner Bros.’ iconic brands, and that our deal would have strengthened the entertainment industry and preserved and created more production jobs,” Sarandos and co-Chief Executive Greg Peters said in a statement.
“But this transaction was always a ‘nice to have’ at the right price, not a ‘must have’ at any price,” the Netflix chiefs said.
Netflix may have miscalculated the Ellison family’s determination when it agreed Feb. 16 to allow Paramount back into the bidding.
The Los Gatos, Calif.-based company already had prevailed in the auction, and had an agreement in hand. Its next step was a shareholder vote.
“They didn’t need to let Paramount back in, but there was a lot of pressure on them to make sure the process wouldn’t be challenged,” Miller said.
In addition, Netflix’s stock had also been pummeled — the company had lost a quarter of its value — since investors learned the company was making a Warner run.
Upon news that Netflix had withdrawn, its shares soared Friday nearly 14% to $96.24.
Netflix Chief Executive Ted Sarandos arrives at the White House on Feb. 26, 2026.
(Andrew Leyden / Getty Images)
Invited back into the auction room, Paramount unveiled a much stronger proposal than the one it submitted in December.
The elder Ellison had pledged to personally guarantee the deal, including $45.7 billion in equity required to close the transaction. And if bankers became worried that Paramount was too leveraged, the tech mogul agreed to put in more money in order to secure the bank financing.
That promise assuaged Warner Bros. Discovery board members who had fretted for weeks that they weren’t sure Ellison would sign on the dotted line, according to two people close to the auction who were not authorized to comment.
Paramount’s pressure campaign had been relentless, first winning over theater owners, who expressed alarm over Netflix’s business model that encourages consumers to watch movies in their homes.
During the last two weeks, Sarandos got dragged into two ugly controversies.
First, famed filmmaker James Cameron endorsed Paramount, saying a Netflix takeover would lead to massive job losses in the entertainment industry, which is already reeling from a production slowdown in Southern California that has disrupted the lives of thousands of film industry workers.
Then, a week ago, Trump took aim at Netflix board member Susan Rice, a former high-level Obama and Biden administration official. In a social media post, Trump called Rice a “no talent … political hack,” and said that Netflix must fire her or “pay the consequences.”
The threat underscored the dicey environment for Netflix.
Additionally, Paramount had sowed doubts about Netflix among lawmakers, regulators, Warner investors and ultimately the Warner board.
Paramount assured Warner board members that it had a clear path to win regulatory approval so the deal would quickly be finalized. In a show of confidence, Delrahim filed to win the Justice Department’s blessing in December — even though Paramount didn’t have a deal.
This month, a deadline for the Justice Department to raise issues with Paramount’s proposed Warner takeover passed without comment from the Trump regulators.
“Analysts believe the deal is likely to close,” TD Cowen analysts said in a Friday report. “While Paramount-WBD does present material antitrust risks (higher pay TV prices, lower pay for TV/movie workers), analysts also see a key pro-competitive effect: improved competition in streaming, with Paramount+ and HBO Max representing a materially stronger counterweight to #1 Netflix.”
Throughout the battle, David Ellison relied on support from his father, attorney Delrahim, and three key board members: Oracle Executive Vice Chair Safra A. Catz; RedBird Capital Partners founder Gerry Cardinale; and Justin Hamill, managing director of tech investment firm Silver Lake.
In the final days, David Ellison led an effort to flip Warner board members who had firmly supported Netflix. With Paramount’s improved offer, several began leaning toward the Paramount deal.
On Tuesday, Warner announced that Paramount’s deal was promising.
On Thursday, Warner’s board determined Paramount’s deal had topped Netflix. That’s when Netflix surrendered.
“Paramount had a fulsome, 360-degree approach,” Miller said. “They approached it financially. … They understood the regulatory environment here and abroad in the EU. And they had a game plan for every aspect.”
On Friday, Paramount shares rose 21% to $13.51.
It was a reversal of fortunes for David Ellison, who appeared on CNBC just three days after that war room meeting in December.
“We put the company in play,” David Ellison told the CNBC anchor that day. “We’re really here to finish what we started.”
Times staff writer Ana Cabellos and Business Editor Richard Verrier contributed to this report.
This photo taken on Friday shows the trading room of Hana Bank in central Seoul, with the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index down 1 percent to close at 6,244.13. Photo by Yonhap
Seoul shares closed lower Friday, snapping a six-session winning streak as investors locked in profits in technology and other large-cap stocks following recent gains. The Korean won sharply fell against the U.S. dollar.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 63.14 points, or 1 percent, to finish at 6,244.13. The index still enjoyed a weekly gain of 7.5 percent.
Trading volume was heavy at 1.14 billion shares worth 52.94 trillion won (US$36.8 billion), with decliners far outnumbering gainers 625 to 264.
The KOSPI has remained in a bullish phase since the start of the year, surpassing the 4,500-point level for the first time on Jan. 6 and crossing the 5,000-point mark on Jan. 27. It broke through the 6,000-point level Wednesday, less than a month later.
On Thursday, the index jumped 3.67 percent to finish at a record high of 6,307.27.
Institutional and retail investors purchased a net 491.99 billion won and 6.08 trillion won worth of shares, respectively, while foreign investors sold a net 6.83 trillion won.
Analysts said the decline mirrored overnight losses in U.S. technology stocks, where investors engaged in profit-taking despite strong earnings from Nvidia Corp.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 1.18 percent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.03 percent.
“Some investors sold shares to lock in profits after the market had rallied sharply over the past six sessions,” Lee Seong-hoon, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities Co., said.
Technology stocks led the declines.
Market bellwether Samsung Electronics fell 0.69 percent to 216,500 won, and its chipmaking rival SK hynix declined 3.46 percent to 1,061,000 won.
Leading shipbuilder HD Hyundai dropped 1.02 percent to 292,500 won, and leading shipping firm HMM shed 4.26 percent to 21,350 won.
Among gainers, top carmaker Hyundai Motor jumped 10.67 percent to an all-time high of 674,000 won, and defense firm Hanwha Aerospace climbed 0.08 percent to 1,195,000 won.
Leading steelmaker POSCO Holdings jumped 1.35 percent to 413,000 won, and No. 2 steelmaker Hyundai Steel surged 19.85 percent to 46,500 won.
The Korean won was quoted at 1,439.70 won against the U.S. dollar at 3:30 p.m., down 13.9 won from the previous session.
Bond prices, which move inversely to yields, closed higher. The yield on three-year Treasurys fell 2.1 basis points to 3.041 percent, and the return on the benchmark five-year government bonds declined 3.6 basis points to 3.278 percent.
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Trend in household loan balances per borrower in South Korea. Data from Bank of Korea. Apartment buildings in Seoul, where rising home prices have fueled mortgage borrowing. Graphic by Asia Today and translated by UPI
Feb. 24 (Asia Today) — Average household debt per borrower in South Korea rose to a record 97.39 million won ($73,000) at the end of last year, as mortgage lending expanded amid rising home prices, according to data released Monday by the Bank of Korea.
The figure marked the first time per-borrower debt has exceeded 97 million won, up 2.24 million won ($1,680) from a year earlier. Total household loan balances reached about 1,853 trillion won ($1.39 trillion), an increase of 51 trillion won ($38.3 billion) from the previous year.
The central bank said the average rose as overall loan balances increased while the number of borrowers declined slightly, pointing to a growing concentration of debt.
Mortgage loans accounted for much of the increase, particularly among borrowers in their 20s to 40s. The average mortgage balance for borrowers in their 30s climbed to 225.41 million won ($169,000), the highest among age groups.
Loans were concentrated in the Seoul metropolitan area, where home prices continued to rise. According to the Korea Real Estate Board, apartment prices in Seoul increased 13.5% last year, the steepest gain since 2021.
Despite a slowdown in new lending following the government’s Oct. 15 real estate measures, authorities are moving to tighten controls further as household debt approaches 2,000 trillion won ($1.5 trillion), a level widely viewed as a risk to economic stability.
The Financial Services Commission has said it will set a lower annual loan growth target than last year’s 1.8% and is considering imposing separate caps on mortgage lending, the core component of total loan management.
Regulators are also reviewing a plan to raise risk-weighted asset ratios on mortgage loans from 20% to 25%, a move that would effectively make banks more cautious in extending housing credit.
Major commercial banks have already begun reducing household loan balances in line with regulatory guidance. As of Sunday, the combined household loan balance of the five largest banks stood at 765.6 trillion won ($574 billion), down about 200 billion won ($150 million) from the end of January.
Norway’s Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo sets the record for the most golds won at a single Winter Olympics, winning his sixth, and the 11th of his career, in the men’s 50km mass start.
