KOSPI Surpasses 8,000 Led by Samsung, SK Hynix - 조선일보

The KOSPI index surpassed the 8,000-point mark for the first time in history on May 26, 2026, closing at 8,047.51, up 2.55% from the previous day. The rise was primarily driven by strong performances ... Read original →

The KOSPI’s breach of 8,000 points reflects not broad-based growth but the capital-market dominance of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, fueled by AI-driven HBM3E/HBM4 demand. This memory boom is forcing upstream players—especially Taiwan, China’s OSATs and TSMC—to accelerate CoWoS capacity to align with Korean DRAM bandwidth roadmaps. Geopolitically, while U.S.-Iran détente lowers Treasury yields short-term, persistent U.S. export controls on advanced chip tools compel Korean firms to localize supply chains, raising production costs by 5–8%. In response, Micron and Intel are pushing CXL-based memory architectures to bypass GDDR bottlenecks and challenge Korea’s HBM hegemony. Over the next 12–24 months, the KOSPI risks morphing into a ‘two-stock index,’ amplifying systemic fragility. ETFs hyper-concentrated in these names could trigger liquidity spirals during external shocks, demanding urgent regulatory rebalancing of market breadth.