Matthews Korea Active ETF

MKOR

Market cap $150M

South Korea ETFs surge as KOSPI tops 7,000 for the first time, driven by booming AI chip demand and gains in Samsung and SK Hynix.

Ever since conflict erupted in the Middle East a few months ago, the topic of geopolitical uncertainty has remained fresh in the minds of advisors and investors alike. For this edition of Bull vs.

South Korea's stock market tops the UK, and ETFs like EWY give investors a direct way to tap into the country's powerful equity rally.

South Korea ETFs like EWY rally as KOSPI hits record highs, fueled by AI-driven semiconductor demand and strong foreign inflows.

Funds with ties to the AI boom in emerging markets like South Korea, Taiwan and Peru could make a run-up to rival the Magnificent Seven

South Korea ETFs have been on a remarkable performance hot streak over the last 12 months. According to ETF Database data, South Korea-specific ETFs have all returned more than 140% over the last twelve months.

Market predictions are not easy to make and looking at the YTD winners, there are some head-scratchers.  Let's take a closer look and make some sense out of the recent performance winners: wet and dry shipping; South Korea; and oil services ETFs.

IDGT, WCBR, UTES, BDRY, MKOR & RING led last week's ETF gains as AI rotation, Japan optimism, shipping strength and defensive demand drove standout performance.

South Korea, via the iShares MSCI South Korea ETF (EWY), has dramatically outperformed US indices over the past year, driven by semiconductor sector momentum. EWY remains attractively valued relative to US benchmarks, trading at a P/E of 19 and P/B of 2.23, despite the recent surge.

Trump's threat to raise tariffs on South Korean imports to 25% puts exporters and ETFs like EWY at risk, as investors brace for renewed trade tensions.