KOSPI Soars to Record High... Domestic Stock Market Value Tops 5,000 Trillion Won for First Time

As KOSPI surged to an all-time high, the total market capitalization of the domestic stock market exceeded 5,000 trillion won for the first time.

According to the Korea Exchange on the 3rd, the total market capitalization of the domestic stock market, combining KOSPI, KOSDAQ, and KONEX, came to 5,003 trillion won at the closing price that day. By market, KOSPI accounted for 4,372 trillion won, KOSDAQ for 628 trillion won, and KONEX for 3 trillion won.

One day after plunging, the KOSPI surged more than 4%, triggering a buy-sidecar (temporary suspension of program buy orders). On the 3rd, at the dealing room of Hana Bank headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul, an employee is monitoring the stock market and exchange rates. That day, the KOSPI index opened at 5,114.81, up 165.14 points (3.34%) from the previous session. 2026.2.3 Cho Yongjun, Reporter

The total market capitalization of the domestic stock market increased by 306 trillion won compared with the previous day, when KOSPI had plunged more than 5%. On the day, KOSPI closed at 5,288.08, up 338.41 points (6.84%) from the previous session, marking the highest daily gain in about 5 years and 10 months since March 24, 2020 (8.60%). The KOSDAQ index also rose more than 4%.

Previously, the Korean stock market had tumbled on the news that former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh was nominated as the next Fed chair, but it rebounded quickly that day on the back of bargain hunting. At 9:26 a.m., the KOSPI 200 futures index jumped more than 5%, triggering a temporary suspension of program buy orders (sidecar).

In particular, Samsung Electronics climbed 11.37%, breaking its previous record for the highest daily gain since the 2018 stock split (10.47% on March 24, 2020), while SK Hynix also surged 9.28%. Large-cap semiconductor stocks thus played a major role in driving up overall market capitalization.

On the day, Samsung Electronics recorded a market capitalization of 991.5394 trillion won, putting it on the verge of becoming the first common stock on KOSPI ever to surpass 1,000 trillion won in market capitalization.

In the market, there are even projections that the KOSPI index, which recently broke through the 5,000 level, could rise to 7,500. On the 2nd (local time), JPMorgan released a Korea equity strategy report titled "Firing on all cylinders," meaning top performance on all fronts, and raised its KOSPI target index to 6,000 under the base-case scenario and 7,500 under the bull-case scenario.

JPMorgan stated, "We expect this year's earnings per share (EPS) for Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix to be about 40% higher than the current consensus," adding, "As amendments to the Commercial Act (including expansion of directors' fiduciary duty and mandatory cancellation of treasury shares) move beyond the legislative phase into the implementation phase, expectations for corporate governance reform are also high."