The artificial intelligence trade that fueled South Korea’s equity markets earlier this year has turned sharply against retail investors, with millions facing significant losses as chip giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix saw their shares plummet.
The reversal has exposed the fragility of the recent rally, which was heavily driven by speculative positioning and leveraged products among individual traders.
The memory chipmaker’s steep decline dragged down the broader market, with South Korea’s benchmark Kospi index falling more than 5% to mark its lowest level in nearly two months.
SK Hynix shares tumbled more than 12% in recent trading sessions, leading a broad sell-off across Asian technology stocks as investors liquidated positions in AI hardware.
The memory chipmaker’s steep decline dragged down the broader market, with South Korea’s benchmark Kospi index falling more than 5% to mark its lowest level in nearly two months.
The selloff reflects growing skepticism about the sustainability of the AI-driven valuation multiples that had supported the sector.
Retail investors, who had celebrated substantial gains during the initial AI boom, are now confronting the downside of their exposure.