News / Korea / yonhap_finance
KOSPI Plunges Over 3% as Samsung and SK Hynix Face Heavy Selling
Electronic Technology · Semiconductors · yonhap_finance · 2026-08-24
000270, 000660, 005380, 005930, 005935, 009150, 012450, 028260, 028300, 032830, 036930, 086520, 105560, 196170, 207940, 240810, 247540, 253840, 277810, 373220, 402340, 417030
South Korean stocks tumbled as major chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix saw significant share price drops amid investor disappointment.
What Happened
Market Downturn: The KOSPI index fell by 3.12% as heavy selling pressure hit the semiconductor sector. Foreign and institutional investors offloaded shares, leading to a sharp decline in the benchmark index.
Semiconductor Performance: Samsung Electronics shares plummeted 8.7% following market disappointment over its shareholder return plan, while SK Hynix fell 3.41%. Analysts noted that SK Hynix’s aggressive share buyback and cancellation strategy was perceived more favorably by the market than Samsung’s dividend-focused approach.
Investor Flows: Foreign investors net sold over 3.6 trillion won in the KOSPI market, significantly impacting the index. Conversely, retail investors acted as a buffer, net buying approximately 3.3 trillion won worth of shares.
KOSDAQ Resilience: In contrast to the KOSPI, the KOSDAQ index rose 1.42% as capital rotated into battery and materials, parts, and equipment (So-Bu-Jang) stocks. The shift suggests that liquidity moving out of Samsung-related equities found its way into high-growth sectors on the KOSDAQ.