# Foreign investors dump $8.4 billion in Korean chip stocks

> Samsung and SK Hynix hit worst weekly drops since 2008 as foreign investors sell.
- Title: Foreign investors dump $8.4 billion in Korean chip stocks
- Summary: Samsung and SK Hynix hit worst weekly drops since 2008 as foreign investors sell. Foreign investors sold $8.4 billion in Korean chip stocks, causing Samsung…
- Keywords: samsung electronics, sk hynix, kospi, foreign investors, korean chip stocks, ai bubble, semiconductor stocks, coreweave, cxmt, bank of korea, finance, markets
- Source: BigGo Finance — https://finance.biggo.com/news/aaf08e97-bb12-4de6-ba3a-1170c94bf9ba
- Author: BigGo Finance
- Published: 2026-10-18T05:05:29+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: samsung electronics, sk hynix, kospi, foreign investors, korean chip stocks, ai bubble, semiconductor stocks, coreweave, cxmt, bank of korea, finance, markets
## Foreign investors dump $8.4 billion
Foreign investors net sold 11.2068 trillion won (approximately $8.4 billion) on the KOSPI last week.
## Samsung and SK Hynix hit worst weekly drops
Samsung fell 17.8% to 215,500 won (approximately $160) and SK Hynix plunged 24.3% to 1.272 million won (approximately $950).
## Biggest weekly declines since 2008
Samsung's weekly drop is the biggest since the fourth week of October 2008 (-19.3%) and SK Hynix's is the steepest since the third week of November 2008 (-31.9%).
## Foreign ownership at lowest levels
Samsung's foreign ownership fell to 45.98% (lowest since July 2009) and SK Hynix's to 48.85% (lowest since December 2.2021).
## U.S.-sparked AI bubble fears
U.S.-sparked AI bubble theories and semiconductor industry warning lights drove the plunge.
## China's CXMT closing tech gap
China's ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) closing the technology gap fueled market fear.
## SK Hynix duplicate-listing dispute
SK Hynix's U.S. subsidiary Solidigm pushing for an IPO caused a duplicate-listing controversy.
## Brokers call it an excessive correction
KB Securities says the KOSPI's price-to-earnings ratio of about 8x puts it in historically undervalued territory.
## Kim Dong-won's view
Kim Dong-won, head of KB Securities' research division, called the plunge an excessive correction caused by shriveled investor sentiment.
## Lee Jae-won's view
Lee Jae-won, an analyst at Yuanta Securities, said the current extreme oversold condition is grounds for a short-term rebound.
## Skeptics warn of prolonged volatility
Analysts warn that market concerns over China's technology catch-up may not resolve quickly.
## Key to rebound: earnings and flows
U.S. tech earnings releases and Bank of Korea's rate decision are expected to test the resilience of semiconductor giants.
## Market reaction to AI investment
TSMC and ASML report no signs of slowing AI semiconductor demand and strong market outlook.
## What happens next
Market attention shifts to U.S. tech earnings and Bank of Korea's rate decision on Oct. 22.
## Key takeaway

Foreign investors sold $8.4 billion in Korean chip stocks, causing Samsung and SK Hynix to drop 17.8% and 24.3% respectively, their biggest weekly declines since the 2008 financial crisis.