"Should You Buy Hynix Tomorrow?"... What Is the 'Rumor About Why Chey Tae-won Said to Buy the Stock'?

'2.5% Dividend, Stock Split' Rumors Spread

US Disclosure Rule Lifted... Market Awaits Shareholder Return Measures

Amid heightened volatility in the domestic stock market with repeated surges and plunges, expectations and caution are rising simultaneously regarding SK hynix. This trend is driven by both the direct purchase of SK hynix shares by SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and the rampant spread of so-called "market rumors" suggesting potential dividend expansion and a stock split for SK hynix.

Adding to this, attention is focused on the level of shareholder value improvement measures that SK hynix might announce, particularly as disclosure-related regulatory restrictions due to its U.S. stock market listing are expected to be lifted soon.

Employees are leaving work at the SK hynix headquarters in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province.

On August 4, a post titled "The Reason Chairman Chey Tae-won Recommends Buying SK hynix" quickly went viral on social media, significantly impacting investor sentiment.

The author of the post claimed that SK hynix plans to significantly raise its dividend yield to 2.5%, based on a share price of 2 million won, and that, after monitoring the market following the U.S. midterm elections, a large-scale stock split similar to what Samsung Electronics has done in the past would be carried out. The author also left open the possibility that, when earnings see a substantial improvement, SK hynix could sharply raise temporary dividend payments in a manner similar to Samsung’s previous special dividends.

The author acknowledged that the post was merely a "rumor," but the claims were enough to spark expectations among investors. Some investors expressed hopes that, even for high-PER tech stocks, dividend expansion is possible when profits are rising. There are even signs of overheating, with some preparing to take out loans for short-term trading. On the other hand, some warned that these expectations are excessive, noting the intensifying competition in the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) market.

Is Chey Tae-won's '4.8 Billion Won Purchase' a Signal?

Chairman Chey Tae-won's recent actions are at the core of these rumors. According to the Financial Supervisory Service’s electronic disclosure system, on July 30, Chairman Chey purchased 3,620 common shares of SK hynix on the market, worth approximately 4.8 billion won. This was his first ever purchase, as he previously held no shares.

SK Group explained that this move reflects Chey’s confidence in the semiconductor business and his commitment to accountable management amid falling share prices. In fact, at the Jeju Forum of the Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Chairman Chey expressed strong confidence, stating, “Don’t buy and sell — just hold on.”

Market Stirred by Hopes for a Stock Split

Investor attention has especially focused on the possibility of a stock split. Interest has grown as Chey’s past remarks about considering a stock split if there are enough shareholder requests have been spotlighted again.

In front of the SK hynix headquarters in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province. Photo by Yonhap News

A stock split involves dividing the face value of a share into smaller units, increasing the total number of shares and lowering the per-share price to improve investment accessibility. As seen in Samsung Electronics’ past case, this measure can serve as a catalyst for increased trading volume and short-term supply and demand improvements.

However, experts are drawing a clear line on interpreting a stock split as a direct driver of corporate value. They point out that a split is merely a technical move to boost liquidity and has no direct impact on the company’s fundamentals, such as earnings or competitiveness.

US Disclosure Regulation Lifts... Focus on the Night of the 4th

The market's attention has moved beyond rumors to the actual shareholder return policy that SK hynix might announce. Industry observers point to disclosure regulations resulting from the company’s U.S. stock market listing as the reason why detailed shareholder return plans have not yet been announced. Under U.S. securities law, a newly publicly listed company may not disclose any material non-public information not included in its SEC filings for 25 days after the initial offering. Since SK hynix listed its ADR (American Depositary Receipt) on the Nasdaq on July 10, the company has had to maintain silence to avoid legal risks.

As this restriction will officially be lifted on the night of August 4 (Korean time, following the opening of the U.S. market), there is growing anticipation that SK hynix may finally break its silence and unveil a major shareholder return initiative.

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