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South Korean Stock Market Hits Record: Market Cap Surpasses 6,000 Trillion Won
South Korea's total stock market capitalization surpassed 6,000 trillion won for the first time, driven by a semiconductor-led rally and strong corporate earnings. The number of companies with a market cap over 1 trillion won also exceeded 400, marking a recovery from the Middle East conflict's impact.
The combined market capitalization of companies listed on South Korea's three stock exchanges surpassed 6,000 trillion won (US$4.08 trillion) for the first time, according to data from the Korea Exchange (KRX). The milestone, reached on a Monday, was attributed to anticipation for the semiconductor sector and a broader AI-driven rally.
Coverage Comparison
Reports from Yonhap News Agency, the country's leading wire service, detailed the record-breaking figures. One report focused on the aggregate market value, noting that the combined capitalization stood at 6,047.9 trillion won as of early Monday morning. A separate report highlighted that the number of companies with a market capitalization exceeding 1 trillion won topped 400 for the first time, reaching 405 as of Wednesday.
Both reports drew on KRX data, with additional financial data from Yonhap Infomax, the financial arm of Yonhap News Agency. The coverage emphasized a dramatic turnaround from late February, when only 377 companies had achieved the 1 trillion won threshold, just before U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran triggered a market downturn.
Key Claims
The total market capitalization of companies listed on the local stock market surpassed 6,000 trillion won for the first time, standing at 6,047.9 trillion won as of early Monday morning, according to Korea Exchange data.
The number of companies with a market capitalization exceeding 1 trillion won stood at 405 as of Wednesday, a first-time breach of the 400 mark. Of these, 267 were listed on the benchmark KOSPI, 137 on the tech-heavy KOSDAQ, and one on the KONEX market for small and medium-sized enterprises.
Seventy-nine firms had a market capitalization exceeding 10 trillion won.
The KOSPI closed at 6,690.9 points on Wednesday, the highest on record, after falling as low as 12 percent in a single session since the onset of the Middle East conflict.
The KOSPI advanced over 28 percent from April 1 to Friday, while the KOSDAQ rose 14.4 percent during the same period, according to data from Yonhap Infomax.
Samsung Electronics and SK hynix each posted record first-quarter earnings, boosted by high demand for semiconductors amid a global boom in artificial intelligence.
The reports attributed the market's recovery to a revived AI rally and corporate earnings season, with the semiconductor sector playing a central role. The data showed a clear rebound from the volatility triggered by geopolitical tensions, underscoring the market's resilience and investor optimism.
How this outlet told it
Yonhap News — English
Framing: Milestone achievement of 400+ companies reaching 1 trillion won valuation — Optimistic, emphasizing dramatic turnaround and post-conflict recovery
Facts Included:
Number of companies with market cap exceeding 1 trillion won reached 405 (first time exceeding 400)
Breakdown by exchange: 267 KOSPI, 137 KOSDAQ, 1 KONEX
79 firms had market cap over 10 trillion won
Comparison to Feb 27 figure of 377 companies (before U.S. and Israel strikes on Iran)
KOSPI closed at 6,690.9 points (highest on record)
Market fell as low as 12% in single session since onset of Middle East war
AI rally and corporate earnings season driving recovery
AI-extracted; can misattribute a claim — see Methodology.
Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.
Claim
Confidence
Status
ClaimThe number of South Korean-listed companies whose market capitalization surpassed 1 trillion won exceeded 400 for the first time this year.
ClaimBy market, 267 companies were listed on the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), 137 were from the tech-heavy KOSDAQ and one from KONEX.
ClaimThe number of companies with over 1 trillion won in market capitalization stood at 377 on February 27, just before the U.S. and Israel initiated strikes on Iran.
ClaimSamsung Electronics and SK hynix posted record first-quarter earnings, boosted by high demand for semiconductors amid a global boom in artificial intelligence.