With the failure of the kim-trump summit in Vietnam, should we steer away from investing in south korean stocks?

Hi Anon,

Immediately after reading how Trump walked out of the summit I have to say I was slightly worried about potential repercussions and trouble in the korean peninsula once again, but after thinking about it actually didn't end off in cut ties or anything. US and North Korea are still looking to negotiate some sort of deal regarding denuclearisation and removal of tariffs, which I believe eventually will be solved in the near future given that NK has already "tasted" the carrot that has been dangling in front of them - in the form of stoppages of military exercises with South korea. Trump also is not one to be trifled with, he does not mind walking out of important talks such as these regarding a nuclearized nation and from the dictator of this very nation. Both sides in my opinion do not want to go back to square 1 of throwing words at one another again and having heightened tensions -US already has enough dealing with China as it is in the Trade War.

This is merely a powerplay by US for now, I'm sure there will be a few more to come in the future. However, it does not threaten the SK economy directly as of yet, since NK is not adopting a hostile tone as of today. Investing in SK should be fine.

Personally, I don't think the Trump-Kim summit's "failure" is strong enough to warrant complete avoidance of South Korea's stock markets entirely.

Historically, NK has always been at odds with SK since their separation. I dont see matters actually complicating just because Kim Jong Un's trying to wave his big stick and for better negotiations in his favour.

If you do your research and find a promising South Korean company worth buying, I think you should go ahead with no qualms. After all, a nuclear breakout would devastate the whole world and not simply SK alone.