"Driven by Samsung and SK hynix: Korean Stock Market Surpasses the UK, Ranks 8th Globally by Market Capitalization"

On the 28th, following the Kospi surpassing the 6600-point mark the previous day and breaking through the 6700-point mark during trading, an employee at the Hana Bank headquarters dealing room in Jung-gu, Seoul is monitoring the stock market and exchange rates. On this day, the Kospi opened at 6646.80, up 0.48% from the previous trading day. Photo by Jo Yongjun, April 28, 2026.

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The size of South Korea's stock market has overtaken those of the United Kingdom and France, ranking 8th in the world.

According to Bloomberg on April 28, the total market capitalization of the Korean stock market has surged by more than 45% this year, reaching 4.04 trillion dollars (about 5,951 trillion won).

This places Korea 8th among the world’s major stock markets by market capitalization.

The United States holds the top spot with a stock market capitalization of 75 trillion dollars (1,104.825 quadrillion won), followed by China (14.8 trillion dollars), Japan (8.2 trillion dollars), Hong Kong (7.4 trillion dollars), India (5 trillion dollars), Canada (4.49 trillion dollars), and Taiwan (4.48 trillion dollars).

Ranked just below Korea is the United Kingdom (3.99 trillion dollars), and in 10th place is France (3.45 trillion dollars).

At the end of last year, the total market capitalization of the UK stock market was twice that of Korea, but with Korea’s market surging this year while the UK has remained flat, the rankings have reversed.

Bloomberg cited the strong performance of AI-related semiconductor companies such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, as well as the pro-market policies of the Lee Jaemyung administration, as the main reasons for the sharp rise in the Korean stock market.

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