A New Chapter in Korea's Stock Market... The Era of 'KOSPI 6,000' Begins [3-Min Brief]

[At a Glance]
1) KOSPI breaks through the 6,000 mark at the open
2) Outlook for a 'KOSPI 8,000 era'
3) Korea-tracking ETFs gain popularity in the U.S.

MARKET INDEX

○All three major U.S. New York stock indices closed higher together... Buying was concentrated in tech stocks.

○Nvidia's earnings beat market expectations.

○Fourth-quarter revenue was 68.13 billion dollars.

TOP 3 NEWS

■ KOSPI reaches the dream level of 6,000... Just over a month since surpassing 5,000

○KOSPI breaks through 6,000 points for the first time in history
○Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix lead the stock market rally
○The government's aggressive capital market vitalization measures also had an impact

■ After hitting 300,000 won for Samsung Electronics and 1.6 million won for SK Hynix, heading toward 'KOSPI 8,000'

○Target prices of 300,000 won for Samsung Electronics and 1.6 million won for SK Hynix have been released
○Customer deposits and ETF net assets are surging... Ample liquidity
○"Beware of excessive optimism"... Short-selling dry powder is also increasing sharply 

■ Following K-pop and K-beauty, there is now K-stock market too... U.S. ETF tracking Korea delivers 300% returns

○A Korea 3x leveraged ETF ranks No. 1 in three-month returns
○The largest Korea-focused ETF in the U.S. saw 1.7 billion dollars of inflows in one month
○Some retail Korean investors in U.S. markets are investing in domestic assets via U.S. products 

the Chart: "Name your price"... RAM shortage overheats 'RAM tech' in the used market

○Secondhand trading of memory has jumped eightfold... A price premium is forming
○Production of standard DRAM is decreasing due to soaring demand from generative AI
○The supply shortage is expected to be prolonged... The overheated used market is likely to continue

Money-Making Law

■ A guideline for judges on using AI has been released

○The Court Administration Office has published an AI guidebook for judges
○It presents principles and guidelines for using commercial AI in trials
○It includes examples of use by field and is scheduled for distribution in March 
☞Read the article: https://m.asiae.co.kr/article/2026022516260432901

■ Called a helper through a cleaning app, and they swept away 'Van Cleef' and 'Tiffany'

○A cleaner called via a cleaning app stole luxury necklaces and other items worth 13.72 million won
○The court sentenced the person to 10 months in prison, suspended for 2 years
○The court took into account the return of the stolen items and confession... 80 hours of community service were ordered
☞Read the article: https://m.asiae.co.kr/article/2026022516264746464

■ A presiding judge is appointed as an ordinary research judge at the Judicial Research Division for the first time

○For the first time ever, a presiding judge has been reassigned as an ordinary research judge at the Supreme Court's Judicial Research Division
○The move aims to expand opportunities to work on appeals cases and to make the timing of such assignments more flexible
○Appointments of research judges will be expanded to include High Court judges and those who passed the bar exam as well
☞Read the article: https://m.asiae.co.kr/article/2026022516293268426

※ "Money-Making Law," a content partnership corner between The Asia Business Daily and The Law Times, is published every Tuesday and Thursday.

Today's Key Schedule

○Domestic

10:00 Bank of Korea Monetary Policy Board decision on the base rate (February)

○Overseas

00:30 U.S. crude oil inventories

17:30 Speech by European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde

22:30 U.S. initial jobless claims

22:30 Canada wholesale sales (MoM) (January)

◇Lunchtime & Commute Weather

○Morning low: 2℃ (▲3℃) ｜Afternoon high: 15℃ (0℃)
○Chance of precipitation: morning 0% ｜ afternoon 20%
○Fine dust: morning moderate ｜ afternoon good

Three minutes is all you need: time- and cost-efficient economic news. Published every day at 8 a.m.