Saturday, November 7, 2026

East Asia Brief

Business•Industry•Policy Intelligence

Why It MattersAnalysisKorea

Foreign funds pull $2B from Samsung and SK hynix in two-day rout

KOSPI circuit breakers tripped despite record quarterly operating profits, hit by peak valuation doubts and legacy memory slowdowns.

Technicians wearing cleanroom suits monitor an automated semiconductor manufacturing line at a control console. (AI-generated image)
Technicians wearing cleanroom suits monitor an automated semiconductor manufacturing line at a control console. (AI-generated image)

The Korea Exchange confirmed Nov. 7, 2026 that foreign funds sold 2.77 trillion won ($2.04 billion) in shares, driving down Samsung Electronics 6.35% and SK hynix 10.44% after an emergency circuit breaker.

The rout followed a broader wave of foreign selling across Seoul equities. Combined two-day foreign outflows reached 6.16 trillion won ($4.54 billion), accounting for the bulk of institutional selling pressure on the benchmark KOSPI index.

The documents behind this briefing are linked above. East Asia Brief produces its English text with AI assistance under human editorial review, and does not translate or republish other outlets' articles. See our methodology and AI policy. Spotted an error? Tell us.

DK

Dae-hyun Kim

Korea correspondent, trade and policy — Dae-hyun Kim tracks Korean industrial policy from the draft notice stage: subsidies, tax credits, export licensing and the trade measures that follow.

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