National Pension Service Rebalancing First Day...Sold Samsung Electronics and Bought 'This Stock'

Summary

Park Se-ik reviews major news items: Korea's record semiconductor-led exports, Circle's stock plunge on stablecoin competition, heavy foreign selling of Korean equities, inheritance tax reform discussion, and the National Pension Service rebalancing. He recommends avoiding Circle until earnings visibility materializes, and highlights the NPS rebalancing that sold overvalued stocks like Samsung Electronics and bought undervalued names such as SK Hynix, Amorepacific, Samsung E&A, Sanil Electric, Krafton, and Hanwha Aerospace.

• Korea's outgoing exports hit record highs in June, led by semiconductors with DRAM and NAND prices surging due to AI server demand.
• Circle stock dropped 18% as Visa, Mastercard, Google launch rival stablecoin Open USD, threatening Circle's market position and reserve income.
• Foreign investors sold a record 148 trillion won of KOSPI stocks in H1 2026, with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix holdings falling to multi-year lows.
• A study suggests lowering inheritance tax from 50% to 30% could expand the tax base by 202 trillion won and attract overseas capital.
• National Pension Service rebalancing started, selling Samsung Electronics, SK Square, Samsung Electro-Mechanics and buying SK Hynix, Amorepacific, Samsung E&A, Sanil Electric, Krafton, and Hanwha Aerospace.
• Park advises avoiding Circle stock until stablecoin dominance is proven, and sees NPS buying of undervalued stocks as a positive signal for those names.