The Korean market just had its most volatile week in months. Here’s what mattered — and what to watch next.
Chip rout meets Friday’s plunge. The KOSPI fell 6.1% on Friday, and an overnight semiconductor selloff on Wall Street stacked onto the pain, setting up an anxious Monday for Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. The Bank of Korea pushed back on peak-out fears, arguing the AI chip upcycle still has a “considerable period” to run.
Two stocks are the market. Samsung and SK Hynix drove 43% of a record ₩48 trillion in KOSPI turnover — even as foreign investors were heavy net sellers. When two chipmakers dominate turnover like this, chip sentiment is market sentiment.
Samsung’s union pushes back on the ₩40T Honam fab. The company’s largest union says 84% of surveyed members oppose the plan and is calling for tripartite talks — a rare labor challenge to Samsung’s biggest domestic investment decision. Meanwhile, Samsung pulled forward its Yongin chip hub’s first fab to 2029 to meet AI demand.
Kakao’s 300x payday. Kakao booked a roughly 300x return on its ₩2 billion seed investment in Dunamu — and is pivoting ₩1 trillion into AI.
MSCI watch. Korea gained a point on the MSCI scorecard, but the reclassification review is the real test for foreign flows.
Also this week: KakaoPay Securities secured an investment dealing license, positioning it to challenge Korea’s IPO underwriting hierarchy; Tesla and BYD claimed one in four Korean car sales as import share topped 25% for the first time.
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