Korean Equities, Won Rally After 15% Tariff Deal Struck With US

South Korean equities advanced after the Asian nation clinched a trade deal with President Donald Trump that would impose a 15% tariff on its exports to the US. The won climbed against the dollar.

The benchmark Kospi gained as much as 1% to the highest level since Aug. 2021. The won strengthened as much as 0.2% to 1,388.25 per dollar on Thursday, extending its gain in the year to over 6%.

South Korea followed Japan and the in hatching out last minute deals ahead of Friday’s deadline set by Trump. The pact sees Seoul agree to $350 billion in US investments, while officials in Seoul confirmed it the same 15% discounted tariffs on automobiles — a key point of tension in recent negotiations between the countries.

“This is good news for Korean exporters as 25% or higher would have made Korean exporting goods have less price competitiveness against rivals such as Japanese,” said Jung In Yun , chief executive officer at Fibonacci Asset Management Global Pte. in Singapore.

The 15% tariff rate is the culmination of months of trade talks after discussions had been mired by delays and uncertainties with a recent meeting South Korea — the US’s sixth-biggest trading partner — will now avert a 25% levy that was set to take effect Aug. 1, alongside fresh penalties for dozens of US trading partners.

The Kospi has surged over 35% this year — making it one of the world’s best performing equity indexes — as foreign investors piled into the nation’s stocks on the back of Lee Jae Myung administration’s bold regulatory reforms.

“Finally Korea has 15% target but the price appear to be quite high compared to the size of economy,” said EJ Ethan Seo , head of global markets at BNP Paribas in Seoul.