Seoul: Securities companies in South Korea experienced a significant increase in net profit, rising by 39 percent in 2025, primarily driven by heightened commission income from increased stock trading activity.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the Financial Supervisory Service reported that the collective net profit of 61 domestic securities firms reached 9.65 trillion won (US$6.46 billion) last year. This marked a substantial rise of 38.9 percent compared to a profit of 6.94 trillion won the previous year. The surge in stock trading significantly boosted the companies' combined income from commission fees, which jumped by 28.3 percent on-year to 16.62 trillion won. Meanwhile, their income from their own investment or stock trading saw a modest increase of 1.4 percent, totaling 12.75 trillion won over the same period.
The data further revealed that stock turnover for the year amounted to 6,348 trillion won, showcasing a rise of 1,679 trillion won, or 36 percent, from the prior year's 4,669 trillion won. This increase was noted by the financial watchdog as a significant driver of overall profit growth for the securities firms.
The combined assets of these companies stood at 943.9 trillion won as of the end of December, reflecting an increase of 188.7 trillion won, or 25 percent, from the previous year. Concurrently, their debts rose by 26.8 percent to 841.5 trillion won during the same period, while their capital base expanded by 11.7 percent on-year to 102.4 trillion won.
In a related development, three futures firms reported a net profit of 88.6 billion won last year, marking a 10.8 percent increase from a year earlier, as per the data provided.