Emergency Interview: Domestic retail investors completely wiped out… Korea Discount fostered by policy / SK Hynix stock price plummets… Employee compensation is top, what about shareholder compensation? | The Premier CEO Kang Gwan-woo

Summary

Kang Gwan-woo, CEO of The Premier, delivers a stark assessment of the Korean stock market's crisis, attributing the collapse to policy-driven loss of trust and the destructive impact of single-stock leverage ETFs. He argues Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are historically undervalued given record earnings, insider buying, and expected shareholder return actions, offering over 100% upside to analyst targets. Improving macro conditions—stronger won, falling oil, peaking US yields—further support a KOSPI rebound and eventual foreign buying, while retail flows shift toward KOSDAQ themes like robotics and biotech.

• Korean market faces a severe confidence crisis after leveraged ETF blowups and perceived government inaction.
• Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have plunged, yet earnings forecasts continue to rise, creating a historic valuation disconnect.
• Insider purchases by top management signal strong conviction in AI demand and supply tightness.
• Shareholder return measures are anticipated by late August, with companies sitting on large free cash flow.
• Macro tailwinds emerge: KRW strengthening, crude oil prices retreating, and US 10-year yields peaking.
• Foreign investors, currently short-term oriented, may be drawn back by cheap valuations and improved macro.
• Retail money is rotating from large-cap semis into KOSDAQ, particularly robotics and biotech themes.
• Urgent, decisive policy action is needed to restore market credibility and break the negative feedback loop.