Foreigners Made a Big Mistake... Accumulating Korean Semiconductor Stocks, Starting Now | What Happens When Samsung Electronics Posts a Q2 Earnings Surprise | CEO Kang Gwan-woo

Summary

Host Kim Tae-seong interviews CEO Kang Gwan-woo about the 2026 Korean market and semiconductor outlook. Kang argues the market may be strong in the first half and weaker later, but Korean tech, especially memory semiconductors, should be overweighted. He sees foreign investors underweight Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, expects Samsung's memory earnings and HBM4/foundry progress to drive upside, and flags batteries as less attractive.

• Kang expects a high-first-half, low-second-half 2026 Korean market pattern, with timing uncertain.
• He recommends a 45-50% technology allocation because Samsung and SK hynix dominate KOSPI earnings and market cap.
• He sees a global memory upcycle with constrained capex and stronger pricing power for Samsung, SK hynix, and Micron.
• Foreign investors are described as underweight Korean memory and likely forced to buy.
• Samsung Electronics is favored for operating leverage, Q2 earnings surprise potential, free cash flow, shareholder returns, HBM4 positioning, and foundry recovery.
• SK hynix remains the HBM leader, though Kang has shifted incremental preference toward Samsung for HBM4.
• Micron's single-digit forward P/E is highlighted as anomalously cheap.
• Korean secondary batteries are viewed as less attractive than market expectations.