Searching for Honam Semiconductor Investment Beneficiaries... Theme Stocks Surge

KOSPI Slips for Third Consecutive Session on Foreign Sell-Off
Spotlight on Beneficiary Stocks from Samsung and SK hynix's Honam Semiconductor Investments
Honam-Based Companies Hit Upper Price Limits in a Row... Theme-Based Trading Takes Center Stage

On the 30th, boosted by the rise in U.S. tech stocks, the KOSPI opened slightly higher, and an employee is seen monitoring the KOSDAQ and others in the dealing room at the Main Branch of Hana Bank in Jung-gu, Seoul. On that day, the KOSPI started at 8,416.70, up 22.05 points (0.26%) from the previous trading day, but then turned to a downward trend. June 30, 2026 Photo by Jo Yongjun

Amid a third consecutive session of correction on the KOSPI due to continued large-scale net selling by foreign investors, the market's attention has shifted to stocks expected to benefit from Samsung Electronics and SK hynix's announcement of semiconductor investments in the Honam region. Speculative trading has also emerged, with the stock prices of some listed companies not directly related to the two firms' investments surging sharply.

On June 30, the KOSPI opened at 8,416.70, up 0.26% from the previous trading day, but reversed course and, as of 9:37 a.m., was trading down 1.21% at 8,293.10. Foreign investors have dragged the KOSPI lower with large-scale net selling for eight consecutive days. The previous day, foreigners sold a net total of 7.733 trillion won on the KOSPI, marking an all-time high, and on this day, they are again net sellers of over 1 trillion won. The KOSDAQ also started the session up 0.50% at 925.21, but dropped to 915.03.

Samsung Electronics is trading at 324,000 won, up 0.31% from the previous session, but SK hynix is down 2.25% at 2,569,000 won. Most large-cap stocks, including SK Square (-5.85%), Hyundai Motor (-1.71%), LG Energy Solution (-7.49%), and Samsung Life Insurance (-5.14%), are declining.

Overnight, the New York stock market closed higher, buoyed by a rebound in tech stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.59%, the S&P 500 climbed 1.18%, and the Nasdaq gained 2.07%. Shares of major semiconductor companies such as Micron (up 1.14%), Nvidia (up 1.24%), and Intel (up 2.65%) rose, pushing the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index up 3.83%. The impact of the large-scale investment announcements by Samsung Electronics and SK hynix was evident in pronounced gains among semiconductor equipment stocks, including Lam Research (up 8.39%), Applied Materials (up 10.82%), and KLA (up 11.97%). Seo Sangyoung, Managing Director at Mirae Asset Securities, analyzed, "Expectations are rising thanks to the large-scale investment announcements by Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, which led to a sharp increase in the share prices of major U.S. semiconductor equipment companies."

On the previous day, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix announced an investment plan centered on building semiconductor fabs (factories) worth 800 trillion won in the Honam region at the Blue House. Following the announcement, the securities industry is actively seeking out potential beneficiaries not only in semiconductor materials, components, and equipment, but also in power grids, nuclear power, robotics, construction, and distribution. The semiconductor materials, components, and equipment sector is considered the representative beneficiary. With the news of Samsung and SK's large-scale semiconductor investments, the share prices of major semiconductor front-end process companies have risen by nearly 20-30% this month. Ryu Youngho, a researcher at NH Investment & Securities, stated, "This investment is expected to secure stable production bases for memory companies in the future, and mid-to-long-term demand is projected to expand for materials, components, and equipment companies."

Beneficiaries are expected not only in semiconductors but across the entire AI value chain. Lee Jaewon, a researcher at Yuanta Securities, commented, "From a stock market perspective, this policy can be interpreted as the second phase of capital expenditure (Capex) for artificial intelligence (AI). While the first phase was led by large-cap semiconductor stocks, the second phase is a stage in which the investment theme is expanding across data centers, power grids, power generation and transmission, cooling, robotics, post-processing, and materials, components, and equipment throughout the AI sector."

With the announcement of the two companies' investments, the stock prices of companies based in the Honam region also surged. Kumho Construction, Namhwa Construction, Namhwa Industry, and Dongyang Pile all reached their upper price limits the previous day. However, as these companies lack direct connections to the semiconductor investments of Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, some caution that such theme-based trading should be approached carefully.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.