Investor sentiment seems to be shifting.
While the economy won't pick up immediately, there may be a few good bargains to be had. Daeshin Securities analyst Shin Kyu Hyung recommends Kookmin Bank, one of the very few financial institutions that does not do business with the troubled chaebol. He expects low domestic steel prices to inch upward even as export prices in Asia weaken this year, amid a construction slump. So might SK Telecom, after a bad 1997 marred by high marketing costs and increased spending to keep up with competitors. The new year should be different for South Korea's oldest and biggest cellular phone service provider, says Kwon Jae Wook, an analyst with Daewoo Securities.