CEO Score surveyed 345 comparable companies among the top 500 in South Korea and found the average salary per employee for the first half of the year was 54.99 million won. ^[1] As of 2026-07-31, the number of individual professional investors in South Korea reached 26,282, up 3,787 (16.8%) from 22,495 at the end of 2025, according to data from the Korea Financial Investment Association submitted to lawmaker Park Seong-hoon. ^[2] Forced selling (반대매매) related to credit transaction loans and securities collateral loans in South Korea averaged 2,258 accounts and 43.868 billion won per day in July 2026, up from 622 accounts and 3.377 billion won in July 2025 - 3.6 times the accounts and 13 times the amount. ^[3] On 2026-09-03, Korea Developers Association and KB Securities signed a business agreement to jointly establish a real estate development equity fund in South Korea, aiming to revitalize development financing and expand new housing supply. ^[4] Korea Financial Investment had the highest average salary at 184 million won, a 13.6% increase from 162 million won in the first half of last year. ^[5] The average salary of 54.99 million won represents a 7.1% increase, or 3.63 million won, compared to the same period last year when it was 51.36 million won. ^[6] Park Seong-hoon, a lawmaker of the People Power Party's National Assembly Political Affairs Committee, said the surge of nearly 3,800 individual professional investors in seven months is a signal that financial authorities must not take lightly, and warned against the 'professional investor' label being abused to undermine investor protection or circumvent regulations on high-risk product sales. ^[7] The number of individual professional investors in South Korea had declined from 26,672 at end of 2022 to 22,951 at end of 2023 and 20,820 at end of 2024, but turned upward after the KOSPI rebounded from below 2300 in April 2025, and increased for seven consecutive months in 2026. ^[8] Kim Han-mo, president of Korea Developers Association, said on 2026-09-03 that the fund serves the public purpose of expanding national housing supply while providing new opportunities for member companies and young people aspiring to become developers, and that its success will enable continuous pump-priming funds and establish the foundation for the industry's long-desired mutual aid association (gongjehoe). ^[9] Korea Developers Association will source quality projects through its network of around 1,000 member companies and 2,200 registered development operators, while KB Securities will contribute financial screening and operations, aiming to accelerate construction starts and project stabilization. ^[10] The new fund will target small- and mid-sized South Korean developers facing early-stage financing difficulties caused by recent project-finance (PF) system reforms and a contraction in bridge loans, and will help strengthen equity in prime Seoul metropolitan area projects and reduce dependence on high-interest borrowings, in line with the government's August 13 housing supply policy. ^[11]