Source: Segye Ilbo · 경제

What happened

Korea’s two semiconductor giants pulled the main board down on Monday, Aug. 24, even as the smaller tech market moved the other way. Segye Ilbo reports that Samsung Electronics and SK hynix fell sharply, sending the KOSPI down more than 3%. The index closed at 6,696.96, off 215.99 points (3.12%). It opened at 6,881.07, already 31.88 points (0.46%) lower, and widened losses to an intraday low of 6,656.07 (-3.72%).

The breakdown

Foreign investors net sold 3.6882 trillion won on the main board — a second straight selling day and the largest outflow since July 28’s 4.5261 trillion won. Institutions net sold 1.2925 trillion won. Retail investors alone net bought 3.33206 trillion won. In KOSPI200 futures, foreigners were net buyers of 253.7 billion won.

Samsung Electronics finished down 8.70% at 257,000 won; its preferred shares fell 8.55% after an 8%+ surge on Aug. 21. SK hynix closed down 3.41% at 1,671,000 won after opening up 2.60% and briefly reaching 1,792,000 won (+3.58%). SK hynix disclosed a 40 trillion won buyback to be fully canceled plus a policy to return more than 50% of free cash flow over three years. Samsung approved a 2026 return plan estimated at 90–110 trillion won, including roughly 30 trillion won in cash dividends, but detailed terms are not due until a late-October board meeting. Toss Securities research head Lee Young-gon said SK hynix’s immediate buyback path should have a stronger short-term supply effect than Samsung’s dividend-led start.

Samsung-group and SK-linked names fell with them — Samsung C&T -7.84%, Samsung Life -13.09%, SK Square -4.19% — while LG Energy Solution +5.39% and Hanwha Aerospace +1.84% rose. By sector, insurance -7.51% and electric/electronics -5.13% lagged; metals +5.52% and chemicals +2.93% gained. Despite the index drop, 579 KOSPI names advanced versus 286 decliners.

Kosdaq finished up 11.39 points (1.42%) at 813.33. Foreigners net bought 241.7 billion won there while retail net sold 260.4 billion won. Shinhan Investment researcher Kim Ki-baek described a “Samsung-group-excluded rotation” into secondary-battery and parts makers such as Ecopro +7.59% and Ecopro BM +10.80%. Newly listed AI drone maker Nearslab plunged 30.46% from its 41,200 won IPO price. Combined turnover reached 26.1421 trillion won on KOSPI and 4.4608 trillion won on Kosdaq. The won strengthened to 1,382.4 per dollar, 4.1 won below the prior reference.

Why it matters outside Korea

Samsung and SK hynix are global proxies for memory pricing and AI-server demand. Monday showed that even blockbuster shareholder-return headlines can fail to stop profit-taking when foreigners sell at scale. For overseas holders of Korea ETFs, index risk can stay concentrated in chip and chaebol-linked names while other sectors rotate on the same board. Kosdaq inflows into battery and parts makers suggest domestic traders are reallocating within Korea’s tech complex rather than exiting equities entirely.

What travelers and expats should watch

• Do not read a 3% KOSPI drop as a uniform crash: more than twice as many main-board stocks rose as fell. Check whether your Korea exposure is chip-heavy before reacting to the headline.
• FX moved opposite the equity fear: the won strengthened to 1,382.4 per dollar despite heavy foreign selling. Compare bank spreads on the day rather than assuming a weaker currency follows a red stock screen.
• Return mechanics differ: Samsung’s plan is large on paper but details arrive in late October; SK hynix is executing buybacks now — a gap that already showed up in relative price action.
• New-listing volatility on Kosdaq: Nearslab’s 30.46% drop from IPO price shows small-board debuts can diverge sharply from the broader Kosdaq gain.

Context

Read this as a Samsung-group index adjustment with Kosdaq rotation, not as proof that Korea’s entire market turned uniformly bearish. Daishin Securities researcher Lee Kyung-min said the session tested support near the 6,680 line and looked more like chaebol-linked index pressure than broad weakness. Headline KOSPI moves can mask a two-track market where chip giants fall while smaller tech and industrial names recover on the same day.

Source

Segye Ilbo · 경제: 삼전·닉스 동반 급락에 코스피 3%↓…코스닥은 1%대 올라 — Korean original; paraphrased for briefing. Soft briefing only — not personalized investment, tax, or securities advice.