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Photo courtesy of Yonhap News |
[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] SEOUL, South Korea — November 3, 2025 — South Korean investors will once again be able to trade U.S. stocks during daytime hours starting Monday, November 4 (KST), marking the resumption of a service suspended for more than a year.
According to the securities industry, major brokerages including Korea Investment & Securities, Mirae Asset Securities, NH Investment & Securities, Samsung Securities, and Daishin Securities will reopen daytime U.S. stock trading services on Monday.
Woori Investment & Securities, which began U.S. stock trading in March, is expected to launch its daytime trading service later this year, while Sangsangin Securities, which exited the overseas trading business in 2024, will not participate.
Once resumed, investors in Korea will be able to trade U.S. equities between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Korean Standard Time (KST). Combined with the pre-market and regular trading sessions, Korean investors will effectively be able to trade U.S. stocks almost around the clock:
Daytime session: 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. KST
Pre-market: 6:00 p.m. – 11:30 p.m. KST
Regular session: 11:30 p.m. – 6:00 a.m. KST (next day)
After-hours: 6:00 a.m. – 7:00 a.m. KST
Extended after-hours: 7:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. KST
The daytime trading service, known as Blue Ocean ATS (Alternative Trading System), was first suspended in August 2023, following a major system failure and mass trade cancellations during the global stock market plunge dubbed “Black Monday.”
At that time, Blue Ocean abruptly canceled approximately ₩630 billion (USD 460 million) in transactions affecting about 90,000 Korean investor accounts, prompting 19 Korean securities firms to suspend the service until system safeguards were improved.
Since then, Blue Ocean has introduced a new trading infrastructure with improved processing speed and higher transaction capacity, as well as compensation policies for potential future incidents.
Other U.S.-based ATS platforms such as Moon ATS and Bruce ATS have also emerged, providing alternative channels for Korean investors to trade U.S. equities during local daytime hours.
알파경제 Paul Lee 특파원(hoondork1977@alphabiz.co.kr)
