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Hidden Research
South Korea’s Stock Market Has Become an AI-Cycle Machine: Five Years of KOSPI Returns and What Comes Next
The KOSPI gained 75.6% in 2025 and was another 64% higher by September 11, 2026. This premium analysis examines five years of returns, the AI semiconductor boom, investor flows, governance reform and the risks shaping Korea’s next market cycle.
- The KOSPI’s five annual price returns were +3.6% in 2021, -24.9% in 2022, +18.7% in 2023, -9.6% in 2024 and +75.6% in 2025.
- From the end of 2020 through the end of 2025, the KOSPI gained about 46.7%, equivalent to roughly 8.0% annualized before dividends.
- The KOSPI closed at 6,909.91 on September 11, 2026, about 64.0% above its 2025 year-end close, although 2026 has also included severe technology-led corrections.
- Korea’s August 2026 semiconductor exports reached a record $46.65 billion, up 209% year on year, making the AI-memory cycle a central driver of both the economy and equity market.
- The next stage of the Korean market depends on whether semiconductor earnings, corporate-governance reform, treasury-share cancellation and broader shareholder returns can justify a valuation rerating that has already moved very quickly.
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