Strike crisis resolved! Samsung Electronics reaches preliminary agreement with union, South Korean stock market soars in response.

Samsung Electronics reached a preliminary agreement with the union, resolving the strike threat faced by the world's largest memory chip manufacturer. This led to a rise in the South Korean stock market. On Thursday, the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) surged by 6.4%, with Samsung's stock price soaring by nearly 7% and SK Hynix's stock price rising by as much as 8.4%. Due to a significant increase in stock index futures, the Korea Exchange temporarily suspended program trading for KOSPI and the small-cap KOSDAQ. The strong performance of the U.S. chip giant NVIDIA also boosted chip-related stocks. In the past two trading days, the tech stocks in the South Korean stock market fell due to rising bond yields, along with the strike risk faced by Samsung Electronics. "From the perspective of reducing uncertainty, the preliminary agreement reached by labor and management is good news," said Ha SeokKeun, Chief Investment Officer of Eugene Asset Management. "In addition, NVIDIA's financial results conference call once again emphasized the strong demand for AI-driven memory, especially for High-Bandwidth Memory (HBM) and advanced DRAM." The rise in the South Korean stock market on Thursday was mainly driven by local investors, while global funds continued their selling trend. As of Wednesday, foreign investors had reduced their holdings of South Korean KOSPI index components by over $25 billion in May, mainly because the stock prices of Samsung and SK Hynix, the two chip manufacturers, had already doubled this year, prompting investors to take profits. Although the South Korean KOSPI index rebounded, overseas investors continued to sell and exit. The performance of the South Korean stock market in 2026 is considered to be the best in the world, with an increase of over 80%, thanks to the boom in artificial intelligence driving the prosperous development of memory chips. Jung In Yun, CEO of Fibonacci Asset Management Global, said, "While the labor strike is important, global investors are more concerned about U.S. Treasury yields, foreign exchange fluctuations, and the broader AI cycle. Due to the demand for global AI infrastructure, the fundamentals of the South Korean semiconductor industry remain strong."