PLUS Korea Defense Industry Index ETF

KDEF

Market cap $118M

Elevated inflation in the country is likely to strengthen the case for the central bank to tighten monetary policy at its rate-setting meeting later this month.

Exports were powered by the unabated demand for advanced chips to fuel the global artificial-intelligence boom, resulting in their largest increase in nearly five decades.

The rally driven by the global artificial-intelligence boom has exposed structural vulnerabilities in a stock market unaccustomed to wild swings.

South Korean stocks were hit by a second trading suspension this week as chipmakers plunged, highlighting the market's sensitivity to swings in global artificial-intelligence sentiment. The benchmark Kospi extended losses after the Korea Exchange's 20 minute trading halt, falling as much as 9%.

The PLUS Korea Defense Industry Index ETF is a unique international aerospace and defense fund. The ETF seems relatively cheap compared to other industrial ETFs, given the solid fundamentals of the portfolio's underlying holdings. However, the fund's hyper-specific niche does cause it to face some idiosyncratic risks.

South Korean stocks plunged as investors pulled back from artificial intelligence bets. Meanwhile, a tech-centered camaraderie was on display last week with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's night out in Seoul with South Korea's tech corporate royalty, including leaders from SK Group, LG Group and Naver Corp.

Having more than doubled already this year, Korea's stock market returns have driven a wealth effect that under an optimistic scenario could generate a wealth effect among the populace of KRW 43 trillion ($28 billion)

Earnings are the principal driver behind the breathtaking rallies achieved by Korean and Taiwanese benchmark indices in 2026, and Goldman Sachs thinks the market is still underestimating the longevity of the chip cycle.

The benchmark consumer-price index rose 3.1% from a year earlier in May, reflecting the effects of higher oil prices amid Middle East tensions and the won's weakness against the U.S. dollar.

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.