What happened?

South Korea’s stock market has been making headlines recently. The KOSPI index surged 75.6% in 2025 and continued rising in 2026, reaching a record high of about 9,386 on 19 June. It later corrected sharply, closing at 6,516 on 20 July, but remained more than 50% higher for the year. One development that drew further attention was SK Hynix’s Nasdaq cross-listing, which highlighted growing global interest in South Korea’s AI memory-chip companies. I have also seen more discussion about the KOSPI and its volatility in the Beansprout Telegram community.  This has led to questions about what the KOSPI represents and why its movements can be so significant. In this guide, I will explain what the KOSPI is, its key constituents and how Singapore investors can gain exposure to South Korea’s stock market. Source: Beansprout

What is the KOSPI?

KOSPI stands for the Korea Composite Stock Price Index. It...