SK Hynix Becomes New Market Cap Leader, KOSPI Hits Another Record High

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For the first time in 25 years, the "top stock" of the KOSPI has changed. Today (June 22), SK Hynix surpassed Samsung Electronics to take the number one spot in market capitalization for an individual stock. The KOSPI also broke its all-time record once again.

Reporter Kim Hye-min has the story.

[Reporter]

SK Hynix shares rose 5.6% today, closing in on 3 million won per share.

Its market capitalization reached 2,080 trillion won.

This surpassed the 2,066 trillion won market cap of Samsung Electronics' common shares, which fell 0.14%.

It has been 25 years and 7 months since Samsung Electronics first took the top spot on the KOSPI in November 2000.

While Samsung Electronics' stock price has risen 2.75 times this year, SK Hynix has surged 4.31 times, leading to the shift in rankings between the two companies.

Analysts suggest that while SK Hynix focuses exclusively on semiconductors, Samsung Electronics operates a diverse range of businesses including mobile and home appliances, allowing SK Hynix to more fully capture the benefits of the semiconductor boom.

[Kim Dong-won / Head of Research, KB Securities: Since SK Hynix is a pure-play memory company, its performance and stock price tend to be more sensitive and react more quickly than Samsung Electronics.]

However, because Samsung Electronics also trades preferred shares—which do not carry voting rights—the company's total market capitalization remains 168 trillion won higher than that of SK Hynix.

[Professor Seo Ji-yong / Department of Business Administration, Sangmyung University: In textbook definitions, when looking at market value of capital, it is more accurate to combine both common and preferred shares. However, in terms of general investor interest, it is common to use the price of common shares as the standard.]

The KOSPI rose 62 points today, closing above 9,100 points for the first time in history.

Investor sentiment was bolstered by ongoing negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, as well as a 188% surge in semiconductor exports through the 20th of this month compared to the same period last year.

The strength of semiconductor companies is a global trend.

In Japan, the top company by market cap recently shifted from the global automaker Toyota to Kioxia, a NAND flash memory manufacturer.

Analysts say that amid the AI frenzy, the landscape of global stock markets is rapidly shifting to center around semiconductor companies.

Reported by Kim Hak-mo | Video by Kim Jun-hee | Graphics by Seo Seung-hyun
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.