June 20, 2025. The KOSPI surpassed 3,000 points again after about 3 years and 6 months.

September 10, 2025. Surpassed the 3,300 mark for the first time in 4 years and 2 months, reaching an all-time intraday high.

October 2, 2025. KOSPI surpasses the 3500 mark, a level never reached in nearly 40 years of South Korean stock market history.

October 27, 2025. The KOSPI, which set new records five times in just three weeks by increasing in 100-point increments, has finally ushered in the era of 'KOSPI 4000'.

On the 27th, the KOSPI, Samsung Electronics, and SK Hynix indices were displayed at the Korea Exchange PR Center in Yeouido, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

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The KOSPI index surpassed the 4,030 mark, ushering in the era of “Sacheonpi” (KOSPI 4000 points). Samsung Electronics also broke through the “100,000 won per share” milestone. On the same day, Japan’s Nikkei index also surpassed the 50,000 mark for the first time ever during intraday trading.

As of 9:40 a.m. on the 27th, the KOSPI index was trading at 4,031.02, up 89.43 points (2.27%) from the previous trading day. The KOSPI started the day at 3,999.79, up 1.48%, and quickly broke through the 4,000 mark. Foreign investors are leading the rally by purchasing 278 billion won worth of shares. Meanwhile, individuals and institutions are selling off 180.9 billion won and 89.5 billion won worth of shares, respectively.

The appearance of Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, who departed to accompany the economic delegation to the South Korea-US summit held in Washington DC, USA, on August 24. Photo by Yonhap News

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Notably, the share price of Samsung Electronics, the company with the largest market capitalization in Korea, rose 2.73% to trade at 101,500 won, marking “100,000 Won Samsung Electronics” for the first time ever. Coincidentally, this day also marks the third anniversary of Chairman Lee Jae-yong’s inauguration. As the semiconductor division hit bottom and earnings began to rebound, market expectations have grown.

Chairman Lee Jae-yong plans to continue his on-site management activities without issuing a separate statement. Appointed during a period in 2022 when Samsung Electronics experienced an “earnings shock” and its semiconductor and smartphone businesses were faltering, Chairman Lee has delivered record-breaking results, growing the company’s market capitalization from about 355.202 trillion won at the time of his inauguration to 584.8602 trillion won as of the 24th-an increase of over 60% in just three years.

Samsung, which had lagged behind in artificial intelligence (AI) demand, focused on regaining its technological edge in response to Chairman Lee’s call for “technology the world has never seen.” This year, the company secured a record-breaking semiconductor order worth 2.3 trillion won from Tesla, among other achievements. In the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) market, which had been dominated by SK Hynix, Samsung recently succeeded in expanding shipments by diversifying its customer base for the HBM3E 12-layer product, and it is also anticipating supplying HBM4 to Nvidia. In addition, Samsung secured a contract to supply image sensors for Apple’s iPhones this year, and is accelerating its transition to new growth engines such as AI and robotics through expanded collaborations with global companies.

Samsung Electronics is also actively working to enhance shareholder value by strengthening employee incentives, including share buybacks and cancellations, and the introduction of a performance share unit (PSU) system. As a result, the number of retail shareholders has increased, reaching 5,049,000 as of the end of June this year-an increase of 800,000 in just one year.

Yonhap News Agency

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Most of the other top KOSPI stocks by market capitalization, including SK Hynix (up 4.51%), also showed strong gains. SK Square (up 7.47%), HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (up 6.57%), Hanwha Ocean (up 5.25%), and HD Hyundai Electric (up 4.49%) are also leading the rally. By sector, most industries showed upward trends, including construction (up 3.33%), transportation equipment and parts (up 2.97%), electrical and electronics (up 2.38%), pharmaceuticals (up 2.34%), finance (up 2.12%), and securities (up 2.05%).

At the same time, the KOSDAQ index stood at 895.77, up 12.69 points (1.44%) from the previous day. Individuals purchased 38.2 billion won worth of shares, while foreigners made net sales of 50 billion won. Institutions sold off 7.5 billion won worth of shares. Among the top KOSDAQ stocks by market capitalization, pharmaceutical and biotech stocks were strong, buoyed by expectations of a U.S. interest rate cut.

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On the same day, the Nikkei index in Japan also surpassed the 50,000 mark for the first time ever during intraday trading. Nihon Keizai Shimbun cited easing concerns over U.S.-China trade friction as one of the factors behind the rally.

Meanwhile, this week’s stock market is packed with major events such as the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit, and key corporate earnings announcements at home and abroad. The main focus for the October FOMC meeting is whether the U.S. Federal Reserve will decide to cut interest rates.

Joonki Cho, a researcher at SK Securities, said, “Last month’s U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) growth rate came in below market expectations, making a 25 basis point (1bp = 0.01 percentage point) rate cut a certainty. In addition, Europe, Japan, and Canada also have monetary policy meetings and key interest rate decisions scheduled. The market expects Europe and Japan to hold rates steady, while Canada is expected to cut by 25 basis points.”

The results of bilateral summits between the United States, China, Korea, and others, which will be held consecutively during the APEC Summit, are expected to influence the stock market and exchange rates during the week. Korea is scheduled to hold a summit with the United States on the 29th, with tariff negotiations as a key agenda item.

Seonghun Lee, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, said, “As the market navigates a series of major events, daily stock price volatility may increase compared to last week,” adding, “Since the market must digest major events at home and abroad, including key earnings announcements, the actual direction of the stock market will likely be reset starting next week.”