Korea Crash Aftermath and Business Confidence

（the article has been updated to make the text concise and cohesive)

The South Korean stock market experienced a three-day slump amidst political turmoil, including impeachment trials of the former president and the aftermath of a deadly passenger plane crash.

The crash of Jeju Air’s flight at Muan Airport over the weekend raised further concerns about business confidence at a time when the country most needs it. Korean-themed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) like the iShares MSCI South Korea ETF (EWY) and Franklin FTSE South Korea ETF (FLKR) have seen declines throughout 2024, dropping over 30% from their yearly highs. Specifically, EWY has fallen by 35.8%, and FLKR by 34%.

On Monday, another Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 had to return to the airport shortly after takeoff due to similar landing gear issues, according to Yonhap News. This raises questions about the airline's routine checks on its aircraft. While investigations are still ongoing, it may take months before final results are available. In the meantime, the nation must focus on maintaining business confidence.

In a separate development, the U.S. FDA has approved the global Phase 3 trial for Celltrion’s biosimilar to Dazalex (daratumumab). Celltrion has also received approval to conduct a clinical study on PD-1 immuno-oncology antibody Keytruda (pembrolizumab), originally developed by Merck. These approvals add to the three anticancer biosimilars that Celltrion already manufactures for the U.S. and European markets.