Korea’s online stock trading hit a record high last year, helped by the widespread use of smartphones and other Internet-enabled digital devices.

The value of stocks traded online reached 2,468 trillion won ($2.19 trillion) last year, up 18.3 percent from 2,086 trillion won a year earlier, according to the Korea Exchange.

Of the total, the main bourse KOSPI accounted for 1,524 trillion won, while the tech-packed KOSDAQ generated 944 trillion won worth of online trades last year.

Online stock trading involves automated stock trading through fixed-line phones, smartphones, Internet home trading system and other digital devices, the KRX said.

Mirae Asset Securities Co., which developed a smartphone trading application faster than other brokerages, said that more than 30 percent of individual investors’ online deals were made through smartphones and such smartphone trades continue to grow.

In Korea, the number of smartphone users tripled to 22.58 million in just over a year, as major manufacturers such as Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and U.S.-based Apple bombarded the local market with new models with better features.

Compared to other countries, Korean stock investors adopted online trading technologies quickly, thanks largely to the extensive broadband and wireless networks that cover the entire nation seamlessly.

The amount of online stock trading in Korea surged to 1,926 trillion won in 2007 from 737 trillion won three years earlier. It fell to 1,588 trillion won in 2008 following the global financial crisis that dampened the overall investment sentiment.

Korean securities houses are introducing more smartphone and tablet computer applications customized for Korean stock investors who buy and sell shares on the go.

Brokerages are also offering more incentives such as competitive commission rates for smartphone application users in a bid to take out a bigger share in the rapidly growing online trading market.

By Yang Sung-jin (insight@heraldcorp.com)