CORNYVERSE

In Korea, a renewed debate is brewing over whether to include private pension payouts (personal pension, corporate retirement pensions incl. IRP) in the base for National Health Insurance (NHI) contributions . For overseas investors looking at Korea, the policy trade-off sits between equity & fiscal stability versus protecting retirees’ disposable income —with potential implications for consumer spending, savings behavior, and the retirement market. 🎯 Key Takeaways (Investor Angle) ✅ Asymmetry: Public pensions have long been reflected in NHI calculations; private pensions have been effectively excluded—raising equity concerns. ✅ Policy signal: A bill under discussion would explicitly exempt small private-pension income—pushing the debate from principle to design. ✅ Portfolio impact: For households, timing/format/sizing of pension withdrawals and overall income structure will be key to contribution ri...

Held every August, the Jackson Hole meeting is where you can glimpse the Fed’s true thinking. This year, Chair Powell mentioned cooling in jobs and growth alongside tariff-driven inflation pressures, stressing that policy is data-dependent , not on a preset course.   🎯 Key Takeaways ✅ Labor slowdown: recent average monthly job gains ≈ 35k; unemployment at 4.2% ✅ Growth cooling: H1 GDP at 1.2–2%, roughly half of last year’s pace ✅ Inflation: core PCE 2.9%; tariff-driven pressures hinted as “possibly one-off” ✅ Policy: rates not on a preset path → cautious, data-dependent adjustments; target is a “clear 2%” ✅ Markets: seen as “less hawkish than feared” → short-term rally in stocks/crypto ✅ Risks: political pressure (Trump factor) puts Fed independence in the spotlight 💎 Core point: With “no signal of fu...

Right after Korea unveiled its 2025 tax proposals, KOSPI and KOSDAQ dropped sharply. Foreign and institutional flows turned risk-off, while retail investors stepped in as dip-buyers. Below is a four-part breakdown of what matters for U.S. investors —whether you hold EWY, ADRs, or global funds with Korea exposure. 🎯 Key Takeaways (U.S. lens) ✅ Major-shareholder threshold to fall from ₩5B to ₩1B per stock (≈ ~$3.6M → ~$0.7M), likely amplifying year-end supply as holders de-risk. ✅ Higher trading taxes & corporate rate (STT up; corporate tax back to 25%) trim after-tax returns and raise the policy-risk premium. ✅ Separate dividend taxation could support select high-payout names, but eligibility looks narrow. ✅ Not final yet: political pushback and public petitions mean the package could change during National Assembly debate. 📉 Why the selloff ...