The South Korean stock market has reached a new all-time high, with the KOSPI index surging nearly 175% over the past year, marking one of the strongest rallies among major global markets. This historic performance is largely driven by a booming semiconductor sector, powered by global demand for AI infrastructure.
Market analyst Bull Theory highlighted this development, noting that companies like Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, which carry substantial weight in the KOSPI, are seeing boosted revenue expectations. Export data from early February reinforces this trend, showing daily average exports up 47% year-over-year despite fewer working days. Crucially, semiconductor exports alone jumped 134% year-over-year and now account for over one-third of South Korea's total shipments.
This capital surge has significant implications for the cryptocurrency market. South Korea has long been a retail-driven crypto market, where assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum often trade at a premium on local exchanges compared to global platforms—a phenomenon known as the "Kimchi Premium." However, this premium has compressed significantly since the market correction in October of last year.
Bull Theory frames the situation as a liquidity rotation. Retail capital in Korea has not vanished but appears to have redirected from digital assets toward domestic AI and semiconductor equities, which offer clearer earnings visibility tied to tangible export growth. While crypto markets remain in recovery mode, South Korean stocks continue to print record highs. The analyst suggests that whether this rotation persists will depend on relative performance; if crypto regains momentum, liquidity could rotate back.
