Bucking the trend

South Korea's equity derivatives market has thrived despite significant volatility. The development of new structures that meet investor expectations demonstrates the relative maturity of the country's structured product market. By Catherine Lacoursiere

South Korea's equity derivatives market has thrived since its inception in 2002, growing to $25 billion in notional volumes of equity-linked securities (ELS) last year, according to Samsung Securities. And the market has continued to perform well, despite problems in the global credit markets and big jumps in South Korean equity volatility this year.

The rise in both implied and realised volatility in the first four months of the year, combined with a double-digit percentage drop in share prices