00:02You're listening to AI Prism from Seoul Economic Daily.
00:35Let's look at what this means for retail investors in Korea.
00:39Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have been stuck in a trading range for nearly two months,
00:45even as memory chip prices keep climbing on AI-driven demand.
00:50Both companies are running large buyback programs, Samsung near $15 trillion won, and SK Hynix
00:57about $40 trillion won, while foreign investors sold heavily into that support over the past
01:02week.
01:03At the same time, individual and other domestic investors absorbed most of that foreign selling,
01:09keeping the COSPI above the $6,700 level.
01:13Here's what the numbers show.
01:15Samsung's chip division raised its 2026 operating profit outlook to as much as $370 trillion
01:22won, or $272 billion, driven by server DRAM prices that have risen 5.5 times year-on-year
01:29to $1,500 per module.
01:33Samsung shares rose 1.81% to $253,001, and SK Hynix rose 3.85% to $1,755,001
01:45on September 16th,
01:46both still inside recent trading ranges.
01:48• Brokerages have responded by lifting price targets.
01:52Korea Investment and Securities set $650,001 for Samsung and $4,700,001 for SK Hynix, both
02:01well above current levels.
02:03Individual and other domestic investors bought roughly $9.9 trillion won combined over the
02:09same six sessions.
02:11Foreign investors sold $12 trillion won, cushioning the COSPI's drop.
02:15A holding company rule under Korea's Fair Trade Act blocks SK Hynix from bringing in
02:21outside capital for its planned $400,001,001 Hanumfab, since its parent structure requires
02:27100% ownership of great-grandchild units.
02:31Citi Project's memory supply shortage, and the pricing power behind it, could last through
02:372031, naming Samsung and SK Hynix as key beneficiaries.
02:42So what does this mean for retail investors?
02:46Earlier we said individual investors bought nearly $10 trillion won, while foreigners sold
02:52$12 trillion won.
02:54Here's what that actually means for you.
02:56Retail buying has been absorbing the foreign sell-off, but your downside cushion depends
03:00on that domestic demand, holding up through the Fed decision.
03:04The bigger risk to watch isn't today's price swing.
03:08It's whether the holding company rule delays SK Hynix's Hanum investment, since that could
03:13affect long-term supply for the stocks, many retail portfolios and Korea ETFs are concentrated
03:19in.
03:20That's today's AI Prism, Retail Investors.
03:24This episode was produced with AI assistants based on Seoul Economic Daily reporting and
03:29reviewed by a human editor.
03:31AI Prism is a WANIFRA award-winning series.
03:34We'll be back tomorrow.
03:35You've been listening to AI Prism from Seoul Economic Daily.
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