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South Korea’s ‘Ant Army’ Powers AI Market Boom
Around 14 million retail investors have piled into South Korea's AI-linked technology stocks, creating a market frenzy that is increasingly tied to the outlook for global semiconductor demand.
South Korean stocks catching the world’s artificial-intelligence investing fever with a million individual investors jumping on semiconductors that form the foundation for AI technology.
The country’s estimated 14 million “Ant Army” of individual investors is buying into chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, speculating demand for high-end memory chips would advance as AI-enabled applications become more prevalent in data centers and computing power at tech companies.
While recent trades were indicative of this move it also served to highlight just how dependent the KOSPI is becoming upon global technology sentiment, having already traded near historic highs a year earlier.
AI demand keeps semiconductor stocks in focus
In recent days, the South Korean tech stock is soaring due to this technology from chips that we call “High Bandwidth Memory” (HBM) chips.
These types of memory chips are utilized for data centre, high-performance computing, and AI infrastructure in which servers process huge amounts of data. Two of the top manufacturers of HBM are South Korea’s SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics, positioning the country at the centre of the global AI hardware supply chain.
Chip shipments increase globally this year due to AI in cloud and enterprise infrastructure The global semiconductor trade is forecast to rebound again this year, driven by strong memory chip shipments in line with significant investments into cloud and enterprise infrastructure to serve an increasing global AI applications, as per the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) Spring 2026 Forecast.
As a result, exports of semiconductors in South Korea have also experienced an upswing, reflecting a surge in AI-focused memory chip exports, and subsequently fueling overall economic growth in the country, as cited by government trade data.
Market gains accompanied by higher risks
‘South Korea lags only the US and Taiwan in semiconductor technologies’ ‘South Korea’s AI stock frenzy and the importance of chips to tech investments,’ 7 June 2026; source SIA.
The United States ranks first in semiconductor design, with Taiwan topping in advanced semiconductor manufacturing as the home of world-renowned contract foundry service providers, based on data from the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA).
South Korea still reigns as the leading memory semiconductor producer and exporter. Meanwhile, Japan continues to be a vital supplier of materials, and the Netherlands plays an crucial role in developing lithography technology needed for chip production worldwide. Profitable goods or services that involve a higher level of risk High return, low risk assets are a type of product or service that may lead to significant returns without having substantial risk, like money, gold.
Retail investors in South Korea have contributed significantly to the recent rallies in AI-driven stocks, seeking further leverage in the market via margin loans and leveraged exchange traded funds (ETFs).
While this approach has facilitated a swift and significant market improvement during periods of peak AI enthusiasm, it has simultaneously amplified the market's vulnerability to sharp reversals.
The two most popular stocks for this investor base are dominant players in the benchmark KOSPI, accounting for a substantial share of the overall market’s capitalization. Consequently, movements in their stock prices have had an increasingly pronounced impact on the market’s direction.
According to the 2025 Global Public Opinion on AI Report from the University of Melbourne and KPMG, South Korea was identified as one of the most optimistic countries in its outlook on AI compared to many Western countries, with only 16 percent of respondents expressing more concern than excitement about AI.
South Korea’s stock market’s recent AI-driven rallies signal to both Australian and US investors the growing influence of the global semiconductor supply chain within the context of AI investments and reinforce the close correlation between technology chip industry equities and global expenditure on AI and related demand.
Source: Bloomberg
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