KOSPI at 8,000: AI Semiconductor Boom Meets Volatility
On May 15, the KOSPI did something it had never done before: it crossed 8,000. The index hit an intraday record of 8,046.78 before pulling back, as Reuters reported. The same day, intraday volatility averaged 4.47% for May so far — more than double April's 2.26% and even higher than the 4.27% registered during the COVID panic of March 2020, according to Korea JoongAng Daily . Foreign investors, who have offloaded 98.2 trillion won of Korean equities since the start of the year, sold another 6.3 trillion won in a single session on May 15, triggering a sell-side sidecar. Individual investors pushed back with 20.9 trillion won in net buying that same day. The VKOSPI volatility index closed at 74.71. I've been tracking the KOSPI's run-up since the semiconductor cycle turned in Q3 last year, and even I was caught off guard by the speed of this breakout. My view is that what we're witnessing isn't just a typical sector rotation — it's a structural repricing of...