Korea Exchange (KRX) CEO Jeong Eun-bo, front row center, holds a ceremony with employees commemorating KOSPI breaking the 8,000-point mark at the KRX building in Seoul, Tuesday. The benchmark index closed at 8,047.51, up 199.80 points, or 2.55 percent, from the previous session. Yonhap
This is the first in a series of articles examining economic, political, diplomatic and social changes that have occurred during the Lee Jae Myung administration since the president’s inauguration on June 4, 2025. — ED./div>
Korean stocks have extended an unprecedented rally despite uncertainties stemming from the Middle East conflict, with the benchmark KOSPI soaring from the 2,000-point range to above 8,000 within a year of President Lee Jae Myung taking office.
KOSPI’s gains this year, the strongest among major G20 economies, have been driven largely by a global semiconductor supercycle fueled by rising artificial intelligence (AI) demand, which boosted earnings at Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, alongside the government’s market value-up and stock market revitalization policies.
KOSPI closed at 2,770.84 on June 4, 2025, the day Lee took office. Less than a year later, the index finished at 8,047.51 on Tuesday, surpassing the 8,000 mark on a closing basis for the first time after briefly topping the level intraday on May 15. The rally continued Wednesday, with KOSPI reaching 8,228.70, up 181.19 points, or 2.25 percent, and setting another closing high just a day after the previous milestone.
