Key points
- Samsung and SK Hynix lead the selloff
- Foreign selling tops 200 trillion won
- The IMF raises Korea's growth outlook
South Korea's Kospi fell 5.46% on Tuesday, October 13, as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix dropped sharply and foreign investors sold a net 4.51 trillion won ($3.4B) of shares. The index closed at 6,035.35 after briefly falling below 6,000 for the first time since July 31, according to Korea Exchange data.
The selloff came as the International Monetary Fund raised its forecast for Korea's economic growth this year to 3.3%, from 2.6% in July.
Samsung and SK Hynix led the chip selloff
Samsung Electronics (005930) fell 7.39% to 232,000 won ($173), while SK Hynix (000660) dropped 10.09% to 1,443,000 won ($1,075). Korean media linked the selling to China's CXMT's plans to launch DDR5 server memory using a denser DRAM design by year-end.
Buyback support is also fading. Samsung has completed its program, and SK Hynix is expected to finish around October 15 to 17.
The Kospi is now about 34% below its June 22 record close, by our arithmetic.
Foreigners have sold more than 200 trillion won this year
From January 2 to October 12, foreign investors sold a net 199.1 trillion won ($148.4B) of Kospi stocks, not counting ETFs, according to Korea Exchange data. They've been net sellers every month since May. This year, only January and April were net buying months.
Tuesday's selling pushed the total past 200 trillion won ($149B) by late morning, Newsis (뉴시스) reported. Foreign ownership of Samsung Electronics also fell to its lowest level in 17 years and 3 months, even after Samsung estimated its third-quarter operating profit at 107.4 trillion won ($80.0B).
"Earnings are good and exports are getting better, but foreigners still haven't stopped selling," said Lee Jae-won, an analyst at Yuanta Securities (유안타증권), in the same report.
"Interest rates and high oil prices may have made it worse, but it's hard to explain this much selling since the start of the year with big economic factors alone," he continued.
"Right now, the only ones who can bring buying back are shareholder returns and foreign investors," Lee added. "If both come back, chips are the sector that benefits."
The IMF raised Korea's growth forecast
The IMF now expects Korea's economy to grow 3.3% this year and 2.8% next year, according to its October World Economic Outlook. In July, it expected 2.6% this year and 2.5% next year. Korea's growth is coming from strong exports led by chips, Hankook Ilbo (한국일보) reported, and the IMF named Korea and Taiwan as key traders of AI hardware.
The IMF expects the world economy to grow 3.1% this year. "If Korea grows 3.3% this year as the IMF expects, we'll grow faster than the world economy," said Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lee Hyung-il. "Apart from 2020, when Covid broke out, that hasn't happened in 16 years. It's a meaningful result."
Meanwhile, the Kospi is still up 43% from where it ended 2025, by our arithmetic.
Quotes are translated from Korean. Won figures are converted at 1,342 won to the dollar, the Naver Finance rate on October 13, 2026.
