The Han stock has dropped by more than 20% from its peak, and will enter the technical bear market

On 8 July, the Korean stock market continued its decline, with the Korean KOSPI index falling by over 6 per cent in one day, and by more than 20 per cent since its peak in June, it would enter the technical bear market. Samsung Electronics and SK Hercules fell by about 7 per cent and 5 per cent, respectively, and investors are revisiting the AI demand outlook. South Korea has been the world ' s best-performing stock market this year, but its over-reliance on two chip manufacturers makes them particularly vulnerable when industry mood shifts. The leverage ETF magnifies two-way fluctuations, further exacerbating market volatility. Despite the 19-fold increase in quarterly profits published this week by Samsung Electronics, the chip stock continues to decline, highlighting the fact that traders are asking for more evidence to justify the day-to-day investment across the supply chain. Ian Samson, Manager of the Fuda International Investment Portfolio, said: “The current increase in volatility is largely due to underlying uncertainties. The AI-driven semiconductor demand is indeed strong, but it is in fact supported by about $1 trillion in capital expenditure controlled by a few large technology companies.” He added that there was a downside risk if such chips were shown to be unsustainable. Kim Xian