South Korea’s stock market surged this year despite corporate snafus and recent soap opera-like political turmoil, Forbes reported. South Hyundai Motor’s third-quarter profits fell to a seven-year low after workers went on strike. Samsung is expected to take a $5 billion hit from a massive recall of explosive Galaxy Note 7 phones. Hanjin Shipping sank into bankruptcy, stalling $14 billion worth of goods from being unloaded at ports. On top of all of this, fears rippled through the region after North Korea launched a nuclear test and a sordid political scandal crippled the presidency. iShares MSCI South Korea ETF—the flagship ETF tracking the country—surged 10% this year, through Nov. 3, according to Morningstar. It trumped the major developed markets benchmark, iShares MSCI EAFE ETF, -3%, and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF, which returned 2.4%. However, Korea wasn’t hot enough to beat emerging markets. Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF gained 13% year to date.
