What’s driving South Korea’s epic stock market rally? - Asia Specific podcast, BBC World Service

AI is fuelling the biggest stock market rally in the world. South Korea's benchmark KOSPI index has nearly doubled in value this year - an extraordinary increase that makes it the world's best performing stock market. Click here to subscribe to our channel 👉🏽 https://bbc.in/3VyyriM The rally has been driven largely by semiconductor giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which have benefited from soaring global demand for AI memory chips. The surge has also attracted waves of retail investors. Advocates say the boom reflects South Korea's central role in the global AI supply chain while critics warn that heavy reliance on a handful of chip stocks could leave investors exposed if the AI sector loses momentum. In this episode, host Mariko Oi speaks to BBC Seoul correspondent Jake Kwon and Herald van der Linde from HSBC Global Investment Research about what's behind South Korea's extraordinary stock market rally, how it compares with regional neighbours and whether investors risk getting burnt if the AI bubble bursts. Other separate entities within the broader HSBC organisation may hold positions in some of the companies discussed on this podcast. This episode was recorded on 28 May 2026. 00:00 Introduction 01:30 Why is South Korea's stock market soaring? 02:12 What's driving the KOSPI rally? 03:28 Is Korea relying too much on Samsung and SK Hynix? 04:25 Is the AI boom behind Korea and Taiwan's market surge? 05:40 How are South Koreans responding to the rally? 06:21 What policies helped fuel the boom? 09:14 Why many investors are missing out on the gains 11:26 Can Korea shift money from property into stocks? 13:33 Why don't more people in Northeast Asia invest in stocks? 15:03 Are investors taking on too much risk? 17:20 Can South Korea's stock market rally last? Watch more episodes of Asia Specific here 👉🏽 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLz_B0PFGIn4c3njIxB0KHuO8SS2mBMtUc Instagram: @bbcworldservice Email: asiaspecific@bbc.co.uk Presenter: Mariko Oi Producer: Derek Cai, Rachel Lee Camera: Muhammad Firdaus Bin Mohd Ansary, Rosalehin Bin Rosli, Fahmi Jamal Editor: Bill Birtles ---------------- This is the official BBC World Service YouTube channel. If you like what we do, you can also find us here: Instagram 👉🏽 https://www.instagram.com/bbcworldservice Twitter 👉🏽 https://twitter.com/bbcworldservice Facebook 👉🏽 https://facebook.com/bbcworldservice BBC World Service website 👉🏽 https://www.bbc.co.uk/worldserviceradio Thanks for watching and subscribing! #BBCWorldService #WorldService #southkorea #kospi #chips #samsung #skhynix