Kospi Enters Bull Market on AI Chip Rally

South Korean stocks surged, with the Kospi index gaining as much as 4.8% on August 13, 2026, extending its rebound from a July 30 low to about 22% and putting it on track to enter a technical bull market. The rally was driven by heavyweight memory chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, each jumping more than 5%, as global enthusiasm for AI-related tech hardware returned on evidence of continued massive AI spending by Big Tech firms. The rebound follows a historic rout in July when forced liquidations of leveraged chipmaker bets triggered trading halts and wiped out billions in retail wealth. Recent government curbs on single-stock leveraged ETFs and reduced margin debt helped stabilize the market. A subdued US inflation report on Wednesday eased concerns about imminent interest-rate hikes by the United States — Federal Reserve, supporting US-listed chip peers. Expectations that Samsung and SK Hynix will announce shareholder return plans also lifted sentiment. The Kospi remains about 24% down from its late June peak despite being up over 60% year-to-date. Foreign investors have withdrawn over $100 billion from Korean shares this year, though some are returning as valuations become more attractive. While competition from China poses a threat, near-term memory demand remains strong due to AI applications, with limited supply capacity creating a bottleneck.