iShares MSCI South Korea ETF

EWY

Market cap $25.2B

Just over three years ago, you wouldn't have thought that the South Korean stock market would be such a source of profound strength as the AI boom took off and things like storage and memory chips started seeing demand overwhelm supply.

South Korea's KOSPI has gone from emerging-markets afterthought to the best major equity story of 2026, and the engine is sitting inside every advanced AI server on Earth.

Here's a fact that might shock you: the iShares MSCI South Korea ETF (NYSEARCA:EWY | EWY Price Prediction) has ripped 303.3% higher in U.S.

A combined German-Dutch army corps will take command of NATO land forces in Estonia and Latvia ​later this year to strengthen the alliance's eastern ‌flank against a potential Russian attack, the countries said on Thursday.

Peter Kim, global investment strategist at KB Financial Group, says from a valuations and fundamentals perspective, we are "not even halfway through" the rally in South Korea's semiconductor and memory giants Samsung and SK Hynix. He also discusses the net-selling of the KOSPI index by foreign institutional investors, and the potential risks of labor unions action in the two companies.

Share markets across Asia fell on Thursday after reports of fresh US military strikes on Iran and missile attacks linked to Kuwait unsettled investors and weakened optimism surrounding a possible peace agreement in the Middle East. Oil prices surged while Treasury yields climbed as investors reacted to escalating tensions and growing concerns over inflation ahead of key US economic data.

South Korean tech firm Kakao Corp said ​it has failed to reach a pay deal ‌with its union after second-round negotiations mediated by the government on Wednesday.

South Korea's central bank held rates steady at its first meeting under Gov. Shin Hyun-song, but kept the door open to policy tightening as it forecast higher growth and inflation.

Call it a K-pop.

South Korea is emerging as one of the strongest AI plays outside the United States. Semiconductor strength & AI optimism are driving KOSPI and South Korea ETFs.