LEENO Industrial Inc., a South Korean manufacturer of semiconductor testing components, saw its shares surge more than 13 percent on early Friday.

The stock was trading at 39,150 won ($27.31) on the secondary Kosdaq market at 9:11 a.m. that day, up 13.48 percent from the base price of 34,500 won.

Friday was the company’s first trading day after its 5-to-1 stock split. LEENO Industrial halted trading from April 10th, 2025, until Thursday for the stock split of 500 won par value into 100 won. The closing price of the stock on the last trading day, April 9th, was 172,300 won.

A stock split lowers the par value of each share while increasing the number of outstanding shares, without affecting the company’s overall value.

The rise in LEENO Industrial’s stock appears to reflect delayed investor reaction to the Trump administration’s announcement of a 90-day deferral of reciprocal tariffs on April 10th, which was seen as favorable news.

Meanwhile, Korean platform giant Kakao Corp. saw its shares fall more than 5 percent on early Friday after reports that SK telecom Co. would sell its entire stake worth over 410 billion won.

Kakao shares were trading at 37,300 won as of 9:05 a.m., down 5.45 percent from the previous session. The stock opened 4.06 percent lower and at one point fell as much as 5.83 percent.

Earlier in the day, SK telecom announced it would sell its entire Kakao stake worth 413.3 billion won via a block deal.

The company said the move was to fund the full acquisition of SK broadband Inc. and invest in future growth areas such as artificial intelligence (AI). SK telecom added that it intends to maintain its strategic partnership with Kakao, which was formed through a 300 billion won equity swap in October 2019.

In other market news, Korean shipbuilding stocks surged on early Friday following the news that U.S. Secretary of the Navy John Phelan will visit the country.

HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. shares were trading at 405,000 won as of 9:27 a.m. on Friday, up 7.71 percent from the previous session. The stock hit a new 52-week high of 406,000 won at one point, up 7.98 percent.

Hanwha Ocean Co. shares also rose 6.55 percent while those of HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering gained 5.21 percent, HJ Shipbuilding & Construction Co. shares advanced 2.33 percent, and HD Hyundai Mipo Co. shares climbed 2.08 percent.

According to the government and defense industry sources, Phelan recently finalized his visit schedule and is coordinating details with the Korean side. He is expected to tour major Korean shipyards and discuss U.S.-Korea cooperation for the maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) of naval vessels.

U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed his intention to cooperate with Korea’s world-class shipbuilding industry since his election. The two countries’ cooperation in this sector was also a major topic during the Korea-U.S. 2+2 trade dialogue that took place overnight.

LEENO Industrial shares closed at 38,400 won, Kakao shares closed at 37,950 won, and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries shares closed at 403,000 won.

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