Korea's chip republic meets the law of semiconductor cycles SEOUL, July 03 (AJP) -The market has finally started asking the uncomfortable question. For the last 18 months, investors treated AI memory as a one-way trade. High-bandwidth memory (HBM) shortages, exploding AI server demand and the near-duopoly of Samsung Electronics and SK hynix turned South Korea into the center of the global AI hardware story. After Seoul unveiled a string of government-backed semiconductor mega projects swelling above $1 trillion across Yongin, Honam and July 3, 2026

Samsung defies chip rout as KOSPI sinks SEOUL, July 03 (AJP) -The Seoul market extended losses as foreign selloff continued Friday. Chip stocks were mixed. Samsung Electronics rose 1.6 percent to 290,500 won (about 188 dollars), while SK hynix fell 1.1 percent to 2,163,000 won (about 1,398 dollars). The KOSPI 2.18 percent to 7,281.39. The overnight catalyst was a US chip rout, where the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell as much as 6 percent, its worst two-session stretch since early June, as investors questioned July 3, 2026

AI panic sweeps Asia, hitting Seoul hardest SEOUL, July 02 (AJP) - South Korean stocks led Asia's selloff on Thursday as another wave of panic over artificial intelligence and semiconductor valuations rattled investors, dragging the benchmark KOSPI below the 8,000 mark and the junior KOSDAQ below 900. The benchmark KOSPI tumbled 7.89 percent to close at 7,648.09, its first finish below 8,000 in 15 trading sessions. The index opened down 4.46 percent at 7,933.10, briefly recovered above 8,100 during the session, but sell July 2, 2026

Seoul tanks again, so who pays for the leverage party? SEOUL, July 02 (AJP) - A gambler should know the risks. Reckless leveraged bets often end badly. But when a debt-fueled stock frenzy unravels and defaults pile up, South Korea faces a familiar question: who should bear the cost — individual investors or regulators? Another painful correction hit the Seoul stock market, which until just a week ago had appeared almost invincible after an extraordinary 18-month rally. The KOSPI tumbled nearly 8 percent on Thursday, while the K July 2, 2026

KOSPI falls below 8,000 as Wall Street chip rout spills over SEOUL, July 2 (AJP) - South Korean stocks suffered another heavy selloff on Thursday, with the benchmark KOSPI plunging more than 5 percent in early trading, falling below 8,000 points. The decline followed an overnight rout in U.S. semiconductor shares, which reignited concerns that the artificial intelligence (AI)-led boom may be losing momentum. Just minutes after trading began, the KOSPI fell 5.30 percent to 7,862.92 and the junior KOSDAQ also dropped 4 percent to 892.18. A s July 2, 2026

KOSDAQ at 30 bares Peter Pan syndrome SEOUL, July 01 (AJP) – KOSDAQ, South Korea's answer to the Nasdaq, turned 30 on Wednesday. But the celebration was notably subdued as the junior market remains trapped in a kind of Peter Pan syndrome, unable to match the spectacular rise of its bigger sibling, the KOSPI. While the benchmark KOSPI has quadrupled over the past 18 months, KOSDAQ has barely moved. After standing at 925 eighteen months ago, it closed its 30th anniversary at 929.35. The market debuted at 1,000 July 1, 2026

KOSDAQ celebrates 30 with little fanfare and KOSPI lower SEOUL, July 01 (AJP) - South Korean stocks closed the first trading day of the second half in sharply divided fashion Wednesday, with heavyweight chipmakers pulling the KOSPI lower while power-equipment, cable and policy-linked growth stocks rallied on expectations for the Lee Jae Myung administration's mega investment agenda. The session also marked the 30th anniversary of the KOSDAQ market. Financial Services Commission Chairman Lee Eok-won said at a KOSDAQ annivers July 1, 2026

NPS chief denies "bombshell" selling at KOSPI for rebalancing SEOUL, July 01 (AJP) - The head of South Korea’s National Pension Service pushed back Wednesday against speculation that the fund could trigger a massive selloff in domestic shares, saying fears of a so-called 74 trillion won “selling bomb” were exaggerated. Kim Sung-joo, chairman of the National Pension Service, said in a Facebook post that the 74 trillion won figure was “wrong” and “absurd.” “Even if the National Pension Service July 1, 2026

KOSPI opens lower as foreign selling hits chipmakers SEOUL, July 1 (AJP) - South Korea's benchmark KOSPI opened lower on Wednesday despite strong overnight gains in U.S. tech stocks, as foreign investors shrugged off a global semiconductor rally. With less than a couple of hours of trading, the index fell 1.62 percent to 8,339.34, while the junior KOSDAQ rose 2.84 percent to 942.21. The sluggish start came despite a strong performance on Wall Street overnight, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index surging 3.92 percent, whil July 1, 2026

Stock mania makes gamblers out of Korean retail investors SEOUL, July 01 (AJP) — Tech-savvy and risk-taking South Koreans are learning fast on exotic bets, turning from sluggish cryptocurrency trading to highly leveraged equity investments. An expanding army of mom-and-pop investors is pouring billions of dollars into high-risk leveraged products on offshore cryptocurrency exchange Binance, where they can place bets of up to 150 times on the KOSPI through products banned at home. According to crypto industry sources, Binance beg July 1, 2026