🇰🇷 Korean Stock Picks (June-August 2026)
Our normal Sunday and Monday posts will need to be done a little later this week as there was a three day mid-autumn culture and music festival in front of one nearby mall and the annual Latin American Festival in front of the mall next door. I still need to do a dedicated Korea trip report post as well from my visit back in April-May…
First, some news or a recap about the Korean market covered in our Monday posts from the last few months:
💻 Mandatory Tender Offer for All Remaining Shares in Korea – Lawmakers Trying to Make This Into Law (Douglas Research Insights) Aug 20, 2026 $
I believe the mandatory tender offer for all remaining shares is likely to be passed into law sometime in 2H 2026/1H 2027.
If this is finally made into law, it will have a positive impact on the entire Korean stock market (reduced corporate governance concerns related to M&A tender offers).
Democratic Party lawmaker Park Hong-bae has proposed a Capital Markets Act amendment requiring a mandatory tender offer for all remaining shares.
💻 Mergers in Korea to Be Completed Based on Fair Valuation Method Rather Than Average Market Prices (Douglas Research Insights) Aug 20, 2026 $
An amendment to Capital Markets Act (mergers in Korea to be completed on fair valuation basis rather than average market prices) was passed at the National Assembly’s plenary session.
It is likely that this amendment will be made into law by the end of this year.
This is clearly a step in the right direction and takes Korea another step closer to reducing corporate governance problems that have persistently impacted lower relative valuations versus global peers.
📰 Chart of the Week: South Korea’s inverse correlation (FT) Aug 15 2026 $ 🗃️
📰 Back to school for South Korean ‘ant’ investors (FT) Aug 13 2026 $ 🗃️
💻 Why leveraged ETFs worsened crisis in Korea but didn’t in Hong Kong (The Asset) 5 Aug 2026 🗃️
📰 Why South Korea’s won was world’s best performer in July (FT) Aug 1 2026 $ 🗃️
📰 ‘A casino for investors’: leverage brings huge swings to world’s best-performing market (FT) 17 Jul 2026 $ 🗃️
South Korean regulators fear single-stock leveraged ETFs are fuelling volatility
The unusually sharp swings in the world’s two largest memory chipmakers, which together account for half of the Kospi, prompted President Lee Jae Myung this week to order swift measures to curb what he called the products’ destabilising effects.
💻 2X Single Stock Leveraged ETFs Now Account for More than 25% of All ETF Trading Value in Korea (Douglas Research Insights) Jul 04, 2026 $
It has been reported that the 2x single stock leveraged ETFs for Samsung Electronics (KRX: 005930 / 005935 / LON: BC94 / FRA: SSUN / OTCMKTS: SSNLF) and SK Hynix (KRX: 000660) now account for more than 25% of all ETF trading value in Korea.
High demand for the 2x single stock leveraged products has been one of the key reasons for the higher volatility in the Korean stock market in the past several weeks.
The 2x single stock leveraged products have significantly UNDERPERFORMED both Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix from 27 May to 3 July.
📰 South Korea delays plan for new single-stock options amid record volatility (FT) $ 25 Jun 2026 🗃️
Concerns grow of frothiness in world’s best-performing equity market
South Korea’s main stock exchange has delayed the launch of weekly options tied to single stocks, in a sign of growing concern about frothiness in the world’s best-performing equity market this year.
The Korea Exchange had planned to launch contracts linked to four of the country’s largest companies — chipmakers Samsung Electronics (KRX: 005930 / 005935 / LON: BC94 / FRA: SSUN / OTCMKTS: SSNLF) and SK Hynix (KRX: 000660), carmaker Hyundai Motor (KRX: 005380 / FRA: HYU / OTCMKTS: HYMTF) and battery producer LG Energy Solution (KRX: 373220) — on June 29.
💻 NPS: Net Seller of Korean Stocks in the Past Month (What Is It Buying and Selling?) (Douglas Research Insights) Jun 23, 2026 $
💻 Massive Net Selling of Korean Stocks by Foreign Investors in 2026: Having Significant Impact on FX (Douglas Research Insights) Jun 05, 2026 $
Amid record rallies in the Korean stock market and the major semiconductor stocks in particular, there has been a massive net selling of Korean stocks by foreign investors this year.
In this insight, I discuss the following three major items including net selling/buying of Korean stocks by foreign investors, domestic institutions, and domestic retail in the past 10 years.
I also discuss percentage change in foreign ownership among the top 20 stocks in Korea and impact of the net selling of Korean stocks by foreigners on the KRW/USD rates.
However, ZeroHedge usually does not mince words:
zerohedge@zerohedge
You’ll never guess who is the only buyer of stocks in Korea in the past two months, singlehandedly propping up the chip/memory trade
12:12 PM · Sep 25, 2026 · 174K Views
63 Replies · 101 Reposts · 1.18K Likes
💻 Korea Is Dirt Cheap, Underowned—And Starting To Break Out (ZeroHedge) Sep 04, 2026 $ 🗃️
Korea may be waking up again. The bubble has been flushed out, valuations are washed out and the technical picture is beginning to turn.
Foreign selling is fading, the won is strengthening and the first signs of the old spot-up, vol-up dynamic are returning. Korea upside is starting to look interesting again.
💻 As Korean Retail Investors Flee, Only Record Buybacks Are Preventing A Kospi Market Crash (ZeroHedge) Sep 04, 2026 $ 🗃️
One month after we reported that “Korean Retail Traders Vow Not To Buy After Historic Rout“ 🗃️ with one local (and now much poorer) momentum chaser going so far as to declare that “that was the era of the Kospi mania”, it appears that Korea’s legendary retail momo daytraders are indeed out.
As Goldman’s Chris Cha writes in a note overnight, with the broader market feeling sluggish, it’s important to pay attention to the underlying flow dynamics. And when it comes to Korea, over August – a relatively quiet month after the July bubble bursting fireworks – we have seen a clear pivot in retail behavior away from aggressive dip-buying toward break-even profit-taking on minor rallies.
Meanwhile, it is the massive corporate buybacks from Samsung Electronics (KRX: 005930 / 005935 / LON: BC94 / FRA: SSUN / OTCMKTS: SSNLF) and SK Hynix (KRX: 000660 / NASDAQ: SKHY) that have provided an artificial safety net for the market, but as Goldman warns, the bank’s run-rate tracking shows this floor could fade by late September to mid-October.
💻 The Korea AI Mania Is Entering Air Pocket Territory (ZeroHedge) May 27, 2026 $ 🗃️
A growing number of Koreans in their 50s and 60s, a generation traditionally associated with conservative investments like fixed deposits and real estate, are now embracing leveraged equity speculation funded through debt.
According to the Financial Supervisory Service, investors aged 50 and older accounted for more than 60% of the 27.2 trillion won ($18.5 billion) margin loan balance at Korea’s top 10 brokerages during Q1, more than double last year’s level. (Full The Korean Times article from earlier this month: Record-breaking rally draws older Koreans into riskier leveraged investing).
💻 Spot Up Vol Up Korea Goes Full Panic (ZeroHedge) May 21, 2026 $ 🗃️
KOSPI continues behaving like the purest expression of the global AI melt-up. Every tiny wobble keeps getting violently bought, upside panic remains extreme, and the same reflexive flows that powered the vertical squeeze higher still show few signs of exhaustion.
The remarkable part is that positioning and momentum still do not look fully stretched yet. RSI levels cooled sharply during the brief pullback earlier this week, foreigners continue selling into the rally, and yet KOSPI, SK Hynix (KRX: 000660 / NASDAQ: SKHY) and Samsung Electronics (KRX: 005930 / 005935 / LON: BC94 / FRA: SSUN / OTCMKTS: SSNLF) keep ripping higher anyway.
💻 Korean Bubble Mania: Retail Investors Max Out On Margin Debt, Choose To “Risk Complete Collapse” Than Miss Stock Rally (ZeroHedge) May 20, 2026 🗃️
For many years, Koreans were bitcoin’s best friend.
After bitcoin emerged about a decade ago as the asset class with the most pronounced momentum – both to the upside and the downside – Korea’s daytrading army, famous for being totally unable to do any fundamental valuation analysis but legendary for its wilnningness to piggyback on any momentum with suicidal leverage, became enamored with bitcoin and the result were face-ripping meltups and heartstopping crashes, a daily breathless rollercoaster where 10% moves in hours if not minutes had become the norm.
But then, last September something snapped. After bitcoin had tracked Korea’s Kospi index closely for years, the two series – formerly joined at the hips for years – diverged and went their separate ways, the Kospi soaring to never before seen levels, while bitcoin stagnated, shrinking ever lower as its former momentum-addicted traders abandoned it for something shinier, and with much more momentum: memory stocks.
Korean stocks from a variety of research sources covered in the rest of this post (2023 – May 2023, June 2023, July 2023, August 2023, September 2023, October 2023 & November-December 2023 / 2024 – January 2024, February 2024, March-April 2024, May 2024, June 2024, July-August 2024, September 2024, October 2024, November 2024 & December 2024 / 2025 – January 2025, February 2025, March 2025, April 2025, May 2025, June-July 2025, August-September 2025, October 2025 & November-December 2025 / 2026 – January 2026, February 2026 & March-May) for June-August (but with up-to-date charts and key data) starting first with some Sector Reports:
[Note: On desktop browsers, an autogenerated table of contents will appear on the left side linked to each stock. I will add those links below after publishing/emailing this post…]
August Stock Research – People & Technology, SK Telecom, Dong-A ST, SK Biopharmaceuticals, Hyundai Motor, SK Hynix, Samsung Electronics, Hanmi Pharmaceutical, Duksan Hi Metal Co Ltd, Daeduck Electronics, Hanwha Corporation, Chong Kun Dang Pharmaceutical Corp, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, Kakao Corp, CJ Corp, LS Corp, PharmaResearch, Dentium, Classys, LG Corp, HMM, Samsung Fire & Marine, Meritz Financial Group, Samsung SDI, SK Oceanplant, KT Corp, Hanssem, Pearl Abyss, Shift Up, Iljin Electric, NC Corp, CJ Logistics, NAVER, Lotte Chemical, Sanil Electric, Seegene, CS Wind Corp, Kumho Petrochemical, Hugel, LG Uplus, InBody, HD Hyundai, Netmarble, Kakao Games, Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co Ltd, Hyundai Steel, LX International, S-Oil, Hyosung Heavy Industries, Hyundai Engineering & Construction, Pan Ocean, LG Chem & LG CNS
July Stock Research – Jin Air, DL E&C, Daewoong Pharmaceutical, LX Hausys, LG Energy Solution, HL Mando, Yuhan Corp, POSCO International, Samsung SDS, Haesung DS, GS Engineering & Construction Corp, Samsung C&T, Hanwha Solutions, Industrial Bank of Korea, BNK Financial Group, Koh Young Technology, ST Pharm, HD Hyundai Electric, Celltrion, i-SENS, Doosan Enerbility, LG Innotek, iM Financial Group, Samsung Biologics, Hyundai Mobis, Kia Corp, Hana Financial Group, Woori Financial Group, JB Financial Group, Doosan Fuel Cell, LIG Accuver, Samsung E&A, OCI Holdings, LS Electric, Shinhan Financial Group, Hyundai Glovis, GC Biopharma, Korean Air, POSCO Holdings, DB Insurance, Krafton, KB Financial Group, Kiwoom Securities, NH Investment & Securities & Samsung Securities
Readers can decide whether these insights or summary about these stocks are accurate (with this latest output iteration being more comprehensive than usual):
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AI / semiconductor hardware — cheap forward P/Es, strong charts
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Deep-value financials, brokers, insurers — high dividends + governance reform
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Autos and robotics — low valuations with robotics optionality
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Holding companies and industrials — asset value and discount narrowing
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Power infrastructure / AI data centers — high growth, high valuation
Macro/technical context that makes these interesting
And as always, this post is provided for informational purposes only (and to make your life easier…). It does not constitute investment advice and/or a recommendation…
🔬 Research analysis (including articles/blog posts from fund managers, etc.); 🎥 Video; 🎙️ Podcast; 🎬 Webinar; 📰 Newspaper/magazine article; 📯 Press release; 💻 Substack/blog/website article; ✅ Our own posts; 🗃️ Archived article; ⏰ Upcoming webinar or event; ⚠️ Disclosures or restricted access e.g. based on your location, investor status, etc.; 🇼 Wikipedia page; 🏷️ Tagged links to other posts about the stock.
🔬 Sector Analysis – Multi-Sector Holdings (Overweight/Initiate) – Conditions for narrowing the holding company discount (Mirae Asset Securities) 08.06.2026 ⚠️
🔬 Power Infrastructure (Overweight/Initiate) – Still plenty of runway ahead (Mirae Asset Securities) 07.23.2026 ⚠️
🔬 [2H26 Outlook] Pharma/Biotech – Catalysts for a biotech rebound (Mirae Asset Securities) 06.18.2026 ⚠️
🔬 Sector Analysis – [2H26 Outlook] Autos – Robotics nearing an inflection point; earnings growth to resume (Mirae Asset Securities) 06.16.2026 ⚠️
🔬 Sector Analysis – [2H26 Outlook] Construction – Nuclear momentum: Time to deliver (Mirae Asset Securities) 06.16.2026 ⚠️
📰 S.Korea mulls big rise in tourism levy on peninsula’s foreigner-only casinos to maximum 15pct of annual revenue (GGRAsia) July 16, 2026
🔬 Sector Analysis – Electrical/Electronic Components – The next AI bottlenecks are emerging (Mirae Asset Securities) 06.15.2026 ⚠️
🔬 Sector Analysis – [2H26 Outlook] Steel – Recovery remains slow, but valuations are compelling (Mirae Asset Securities) 06.10.2026 ⚠️
🔬 Sector Analysis – [2H26 Outlook] Transportation – Adaptability holds the key to market leadership (Mirae Asset Securities) 06.09.2026 ⚠️
🔬 Sector Analysis – [2H26 Outlook] Medtech – Among the KOSDAQ’s most compelling themes 06.04.2026 ⚠️
🔬 People & Technology (137400 KQ/Buy) – Diversified customer base; materials business progress is key (Mirae Asset Securities) 08.31.2026 ⚠️
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🇰🇷 People & Technology (KOSDAQ: 137400) – Manufacturing of all kinds of industrial film converting machinery (IT Optical Coating facilities, Electric Cell Coating facilities & Other Special Purpose Machineries). 🏷️
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Price/Book (Current): 0.91
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Trailing P/E: 8.72 (no forward P/E) / Forward Annual Dividend Yield: 0.70%(Yahoo! Finance)
🔬 SK Telecom (017670 KS/Buy) – Synergies between SK Horizon and SK Hyper to materialize (Mirae Asset Securities) 08.28.2026 ⚠️
🔬 SK Telecom (017670 KS/Buy) – Data center business emerging as the group’s next growth engine (Mirae Asset Securities) 08.06.2026 ⚠️
🔬 SK Telecom (017670 KS/Buy) – Strong 2Q26 earnings expected; major AI data center capacity plan announced (Mirae Asset Securities) 07.15.2026 ⚠️
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🇰🇷 SK Telecom (NYSE: SKM / KRX: 017670 / FRA: KMBA) – Wireless telecommunication services in Korea. 3 segments: Cellular Services, Fixed-Line Telecommunications Services & Other Businesses. 🇼 🏷️
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Price/Book (Current): 1.22
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Forward P/E: 14.71 / Forward Annual Dividend Yield: 2.71% (Yahoo! Finance)
🔬 Dong-A ST (170900 KS/Buy) – Pipeline progress needed (Mirae Asset Securities) 08.28.2026 ⚠️
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🇰🇷 Dong-A ST Co Ltd (KRX: 170900) – Ethical drugs, medical devices, diagnosis & overseas businesses. 🏷️
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Price/Book (Current): 0.51
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Trailing P/E: 46.59 (no forward P/E) / Forward Annual Dividend Yield: 2.03% (Yahoo! Finance)
🔬 SK Biopharmaceuticals (326030 KS/Buy) – Two concerns addressed; focus now turns to RISE3 data (Mirae Asset Securities) 08.27.2026 ⚠️
🔬 SK Biopharmaceuticals (326030 KS/Buy) – Solid earnings; adding a second product could unlock further upside (Mirae Asset Securities) 08.07.2026 ⚠️
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🌐 SK Biopharmaceuticals (KRX: 326030) – 2 FDA-approved new drugs. Cenobamate (an epilepsy treatment) & solriamfetol (a sleep disorder treatment). Central nervous system disorders (CNS) diseases beyond epilepsy. 🇼 🏷️
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Price/Book (Current): 14.82
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Trailing P/E: 14.82 (no forward P/E) / Forward Annual Dividend Yield: N/A (Yahoo! Finance)
🔬 Hyundai Motor (005380 KS/Buy) – 2026 CEO Investor Day: Key takeaways (Mirae Asset Securities) 08.27.2026 ⚠️
🔬 Hyundai Motor (005380 KS/Buy) – 2Q26 review: Better than feared; focus on robotics momentum (Mirae Asset Securities) 07.24.2026 ⚠️
🔬 Hyundai Motor (005380 KS/Buy) – 2Q26 preview: Look beyond near-term concerns to robotics momentum (Mirae Asset Securities) 07.20.2026 ⚠️
