KOSPI Hits 9,000 Milestone, Marking New Chapter in Korean Stock Market History

[Anchor]

The KOSPI has written a new chapter in history, surpassing the 9,000-point mark. This milestone comes just one month after it broke through the 8,000 level. Despite the U.S. Federal Reserve signaling the possibility of interest rate hikes within the year, semiconductor stocks led a powerful rally.

Lee Tae-gwon reports.

[Reporter]

[Congratulations on KOSPI 9,000!]

The KOSPI has reached the unprecedented height of 9,000.

After starting the day with a slight gain, the index began to climb in earnest around midday.

Surpassing 9,000, it climbed as high as 9,106 before closing at 9,063, up 2.25% from the previous trading session.

It has been exactly one month since the index first crossed the 8,000 mark during intraday trading on May 15.

Although major U.S. indices fell overnight as the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady while signaling potential future hikes, the Korean market moved in a different direction.

[Hwang Seung-taek / Head of Research Center, Hana Securities: "Since the market had generally anticipated the possibility of interest rate hikes, the impact on the stock market was limited."]

Instead, the market was more strongly influenced by reports of peace talks between the U.S. and Iran, as well as comments from Apple CEO Tim Cook, who noted that memory price increases would inevitably lead to higher product costs.

Driven by expectations that the semiconductor outlook remains bright, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix surged 4.6% and 6.5% respectively, both hitting all-time highs.

[Lee Sang-heon / Researcher, iM Securities: "DRAM and NAND prices have risen about fourfold since last September, and that has fueled expectations for profit growth..."]

The KOSPI, which stood at the 2,900 level a year ago, has tripled in value, bolstered by the semiconductor boom driven by expanding AI demand.

With a 115% gain this year, the KOSPI is the top-performing major stock market in the world.

Its market capitalization has reached approximately $5 trillion, ranking 7th globally, following Taiwan and Japan.

Analysts suggest that as AI innovation solidifies the role of semiconductors—Korea's core industry—as an infrastructure sector rather than a cyclical one, the Korean capital market has effectively moved up to a higher tier.

(Reported by Choi Ho-jun and Choi Dae-woong | Video edited by Kim Yun-seong | Graphics by Lee Jun-ho and Park Cheon-ung)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.