Samsung Stock Drops 8% as Apple Shockwave Hits Korean Chip Giants

TLDR

• Samsung Electronics fell 7.8% to ₩330,500 on Friday as a global tech sell-off swept through Korean markets
• Apple’s announcement of MacBook and iPad price increases rattled investor confidence in the AI hardware cycle
• Leveraged single-stock ETFs tracking Samsung and SK Hynix amplified the selling pressure
• The KOSPI dropped more than 8%, triggering its fifth circuit breaker of 2026
• Samsung is reportedly planning a ₩1,000 trillion ($646 billion) investment in chips, AI, and infrastructure over the next decade

Samsung Electronics fell 7.8% to ₩330,500 on Friday, adding to a brutal week that already saw the stock lose more than 12% in a single session on June 23.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., SMSD.L

That earlier drop triggered the KOSPI’s fourth circuit breaker of the year. Friday brought a fifth, with the Korea Exchange halting all trading on the index for 20 minutes at around 12:10 p.m. local time after the benchmark fell more than 8%.

The immediate spark this time came from Apple, which announced price increases across its MacBook and iPad lines to offset rising memory and component costs. That spooked investors who had been betting on a sustained AI-driven hardware boom.

Chipmakers globally took the hit. SK Hynix, Samsung’s closest Korean rival, also fell sharply — down more than 8% — and leveraged ETFs tracking both names dropped more than 15%.

Leveraged ETFs Poured Fuel on the Fire

Single-stock leveraged ETFs on Samsung and SK Hynix have been a growing concern for South Korea’s financial regulator. On Friday, they did exactly what critics warned they could do — magnify moves well beyond what the underlying fundamentals alone would justify.

The result was a feedback loop of selling that hit Samsung harder than a straight read of the news would suggest.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 also dropped in sympathy, underscoring how quickly the sell-off moved across the region.

Samsung had rallied sharply over the prior 12 months, so some of Friday’s damage reflects investors locking in gains after a historic run. When sentiment turns, the unwind can be fast.

$646 Billion Investment Plan Raised Concerns

Timing didn’t help. Local media reported this week that Samsung is planning to announce a ₩1,000 trillion ($646 billion) investment commitment over the next decade — potentially the largest corporate investment pledge in South Korean history.

The plan reportedly spans semiconductor plants, AI data centres, batteries, and displays. Around ₩300 trillion is earmarked for chip fabs in the country’s southwest, with more than ₩350 trillion directed toward AI data centre projects.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung is expected to host a national economic briefing on June 29, where Samsung Vice Chairman Jun Young-hyun and SK Hynix CEO Kwak Noh-jung are both set to present investment plans.

Rather than cheering the news, some investors read the scale of the spending commitment as a risk. Pouring hundreds of trillions of won into infrastructure during a volatile period for chip demand is a big bet.

SK Hynix separately announced plans to raise up to $29.4 billion through a Nasdaq listing of American Depositary Receipts, with proceeds going toward new fabs, packaging facilities, and equipment.

Both announcements land as South Korea tries to hold its ground in the global AI and semiconductor race against intensifying pressure from the US and China.

SK Hynix stock was down 8.36% at the time of writing, with Samsung trading at ₩339,500 after paring some losses.

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