A technician in a full white cleanroom suit with hood, face mask and dark goggles, seen from behind and to the side, holds up a mirror-like silicon wafer patterned with a grid of chips in white-gloved hands, the wafer catching an iridescent sheen in the amber light of a semiconductor cleanroom, grey process equipment soft in the background.

The Exit

Foreigners Sell Off Korea’s Memory Makers

Foreign investors sold a net 7.6 trillion won of SK hynix and Samsung Electronics last week, cutting their share of Samsung to a 17-year low.

SEOUL, Nov. 8 — Foreign investors sold a net 5.4 trillion won of SK hynix shares and 2.2 trillion won of Samsung Electronics shares in the five sessions to Friday, according to Korea Exchange data reported on Sunday. The two memory makers accounted for about 7.6 trillion won of the roughly 10.4 trillion won that foreigners sold on Seoul’s main board over the week, or about 73 percent, Chosunbiz reported. Herald Business put the pair’s total at more than 7.6 trillion won, which it converted to $5.66 billion.

The selling left foreigners holding 45.95 percent of Samsung as of Friday, their smallest share since July 2009, in the wake of the global financial crisis, and 48.27 percent of SK hynix, the lowest since November 2021.The Old LowsForeign ownership of Samsung stood at 45.83 percent on July 7, 2009; it fell to 46.69 percent in July this year. SK hynix’s stood at 47.97 percent on Nov. 22, 2021. For SK hynix, foreigners now hold less than half the company.

The prices followed the money out. Samsung closed Friday at 188,700 won, down 16.13 percent from 225,000 won on Oct. 30; SK hynix fell 20.17 percent, to 1,132,000 won from 1,418,000. On Friday alone the Kospi fell 6.02 percent, to 5,059.69, after a circuit breaker halted trading for 20 minutes soon after the open, as this paper reported. Market analysts see the foreign selling as the main driver of the Kospi’s sharp recent decline, Herald Business reported, and Yuanta Securities Korea said “the biggest burden was foreign investor supply and demand,” in the paper’s AI-assisted English translation.

Retail investors took the other side, buying a net 2.2 trillion won of SK hynix and 1.9 trillion won of Samsung over the week; institutions bought 1.4 trillion won and 261 billion won, Chosunbiz reported.

Analysts cited by Herald Business tied the selling to concerns that the outcome of the American midterm elections could bring tighter regulation of AI data centers. Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress, the Associated Press reported. Chosunbiz wrote that there were expectations that AI-related investment could slow. It also reported that opinions differ on whether the declines already price in weaker earnings for the chipmakers, and that some say the market overreacted; others expect shifting foreign flows to keep share prices volatile for a while.

Taipei had the same week. Taiwan cleared its NT$500 billion stabilization fund to step into its stock market on Nov. 6, after the Taiex lost 12.19 percent in a week, as this paper reported.

Seoul trades again on Monday morning, which is Sunday evening in New York. Nvidia holds its AI Day Seoul 2026 at the COEX exhibition center in southern Seoul on Monday and Tuesday, the Korea Times reported.

Sources

  1. Herald Business (The Korea Herald), “Foreign investors dump W7.6tr in Samsung Electronics, SK hynix shares in a single week,” Nov. 8, 2026.
  2. Chosunbiz, “Foreign investors dump Korea chip giants as Samsung holdings hit 17-year low,” Nov. 8, 2026.
  3. Focus Taiwan (CNA), “Stabilization fund ready for market intervention after Taiex’s plunge,” Nov. 6, 2026.
  4. The Associated Press, via PBS NewsHour, “Democrats win control of U.S. House, in major rebuke to Trump,” Nov. 4, 2026.
  5. The Associated Press, via PBS NewsHour, “Democrats take control of the Senate after winning key midterm races,” Nov. 3, 2026.
  6. Korea Exchange, “KOSPI Market — Trading.”
  7. The Korea Times, “Nvidia CEO’s daughter cancels planned visit to Korea: sources,” Nov. 7, 2026.