Which stock exchange was at the center of South Korea’s 1997 market crash during the Asian financial crisis?

The Korea Stock Exchange was at the center of South Korea’s 1997 market crash during the Asian financial crisis.

South Korea faced intense financial pressure after several large conglomerates and companies failed or struggled with heavy debt. Investors withdrew funds, the won came under pressure, and stock prices fell sharply. The crisis was part of a regional sequence that began in Thailand and spread through several Asian economies.

South Korea received an International Monetary Fund-led rescue package in December 1997. The program involved financial assistance and economic reforms, while the country also organized a widely remembered public gold-collection campaign to help increase foreign-exchange reserves.

The market crash was not simply a share-price event. Currency devaluation, short-term foreign borrowing, weak corporate finances, and banking-system problems reinforced one another. The exchange was renamed the Korea Exchange in 2005 after a restructuring that brought several Korean markets under one organization.