Why Goldman Sachs Says KOSPI Has Much Further to Go | Lee Geon-kyu, CEO of Renaissance Asset Management

골드만이 코스피 한참 더 간다고 하는 이유 | 이건규 르네상스자산운용 대표 [더블 업]
Watch on YouTube ↗  |  April 24, 2026 at 01:43  |  19:04  |  3PRO TV (삼프로TV)
Speakers
Lee Geon-kyu — CEO

Summary

Lee Geon-kyu, CEO of Renaissance Asset Management, discusses why he remains bullish on KOSPI despite macro uncertainty, citing inexpensive valuations, stronger corporate earnings, and likely foreign inflows. He favors Korean memory names Samsung Electronics and SK hynix on DRAM/NAND price increases and earnings re-rating potential. He is less positive on KOSDAQ, sees a nuanced Hyundai Motor robot/autonomous-driving setup, favors nuclear/SMR and structurally higher oil, and expects AI computing demand to keep supporting semiconductors.

  • KOSPI is seen as undervalued at about 8x P/E with room toward 9,000 if earnings stability drives a re-rating.
  • Korean memory earnings are expected to strengthen in Q2 as DRAM and NAND prices rise.
  • Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are preferred over KOSDAQ and other Korean segments.
  • Hyundai Motor's robot optionality is cheap, but Nvidia's royalty share lowers near-term software re-rating hopes.
  • Nuclear and SMRs are favored over batteries and solar as an energy diversification trend.
  • Oil prices are expected to remain structurally higher on geopolitical risk.
  • AI compute demand is seen exceeding market expectations, supporting semiconductor supply-chain monitoring.
Ideas
KOSPI undervalued; earnings re-rating supports upside.
He remains positive on KOSPI because macro indicators are mixed but corporate earnings and consensus have strengthened; AI-driven semiconductor earnings stability can drive a market re-rating. KOSPI P/E is around 8x, the low end of its historical 8-12x range, so Goldman Sachs' 8,000 and JPMorgan's 8,500 targets are realistic and the index could reach 9,000 if multiples move toward the high end. Foreigners and domestic money can return once earnings stability is proven.
Samsung memory earnings, low P/E drive upside.
Samsung Electronics is a key memory beneficiary: it ranks second globally in operating profit in 2026 and may surpass Nvidia in 2027. It is maximizing spot DRAM exposure, has high NAND market share versus SanDisk, and should see Q2 earnings roughly double Q1 as DRAM/NAND prices rise. Despite record-high shares, it trades near 5x P/E; if the market re-rates it to 8-10x, the stock can rise much further.
SK hynix memory pricing, NAND catch-up upside.
SK hynix's Q1 was somewhat bland relative to expectations because it prioritized long-term agreements over spot sales, muting its DRAM price upside versus Samsung. However, Q2 earnings are achievable and could roughly double Q1 as DRAM/NAND prices rise, and its high NAND share leaves room to catch up with SanDisk's huge rally. Long-term contracts also support less cyclical earnings stability.
Hyundai robot cheap; royalty hopes lowered.
Hyundai Motor looks like the cheapest global robot-company exposure, but robot earnings may take time to show up, while autonomous driving could commercialize sooner. The recent Mercedes-Nvidia arrangement suggests Nvidia may take 40-50% of autonomous-driving royalties, so Hyundai's potential software royalty re-rating should be discounted versus prior expectations.
KOSDAQ unattractive; fundamentals trail KOSPI.
KOSDAQ is less attractive than KOSPI because its recent ETF-driven rally faded, bio license-out news weakened prices, and many KOSDAQ companies in bio, secondary batteries, and materials/equipment are not highly profitable. Short-term liquidity can drive it, but long-term fundamentals matter, so KOSPI is the better exposure.
Nuclear/SMR favored on energy diversification.
Among the market's battery, solar, and nuclear themes, he strongly prefers nuclear as a major trend, not just a theme. Oil is structurally higher and geopolitical risk makes energy diversification more urgent, increasing demand for alternatives. He prefers SMRs over large-scale nuclear because large projects take too long to build.
Oil structurally higher on geopolitical risk.
Oil prices are structurally likely to stay higher than in the past because geopolitical risk has increased, which raises energy-security costs and pushes countries toward diversification. This is a longer-term bullish structural view on crude oil.
AI compute demand exceeds expectations, supporting semis.
AI computing demand is likely much larger than the market expects. AMD's CEO has said compute capacity must rise 100x over three to five years, Claude is slowing from overwhelming demand, and new agent functions from Gemini, OpenAI, and others should keep driving new services. This supports an eventual re-rating for the AI semiconductor supply chain, while monitoring hyperscaler capex and DRAM/NAND prices.
Up Next

This 3PRO TV (삼프로TV) video, published April 24, 2026, features Lee Geon-kyu discussing EWY, 005930.KS, 000660.KS, 005380.KS, KOSDAQ, URA, SMR, WTI, SMH. 8 trade ideas extracted by AI with direction and confidence scoring.

Speakers: Lee Geon-kyu  · Tickers: EWY, 005930.KS, 000660.KS, 005380.KS, KOSDAQ, URA, SMR, WTI, SMH