Korea's Stock Freeze Triggers Gold Rush

Korea's stock market is at a standstill, with investors shifting their focus to safe-haven assets like gold and silver.

The combined gold banking balance at KB Kookmin, Shinhan Bank, and Woori Bank stood at 1.7937 trillion won as of August 14, up 77.8 billion won from late July.

This marks the first month-on-month increase in gold banking balances since January, ending a seven-month slide.

Gold prices have jumped more than 10% over the past month, reviving investor demand and attracting fresh money to silver as well.