[비즈한국] The KOSPI index surpassed the 8800 mark for the first time in intraday trading on the 1st. As the market, once mocked as a "Boxpi" (stuck in a trading box), breaks all-time highs, even investors who had left for overseas markets are beginning to say, "Isn't it time to return to the Korean market?"
However, something strange is happening. The index is hitting new highs, yet individual investors do not feel that same heat. Anxiety that "the KOSPI is at 8800, but why is my account the same?" or "won't I be buying at the peak if I jump in now?" outweighs the excitement.
A report from Mirae Asset Securities most clearly highlights this disconnect. Its title was "Smiling KOSPI, Frowning KOSDAQ." On the 29th, the last trading day of May, the KOSPI closed at 8476.15, up 3.55%, while the KOSDAQ fell 2.68% to 1074.80. On the same day, within the same Korean stock market, one side was smiling while the other was crying.
The report also noted, "The KOSPI hit a new high even though foreigners sold for 16 consecutive trading days." Until now, the prevailing formula for the Korean stock market was that it only rises if foreigners buy. The logic was that foreign capital must enter to move large-cap stocks, which in turn lifts the index. This time, it was different. Domestic capital absorbed the volume that foreigners had been offloading for over half a month, pushing the index up.
At this point, investors' anxiety grows. A market that rises even when foreigners sell could be a signal that the internal liquidity supporting the Korean market has become thicker. Conversely, it could also be interpreted as individuals stepping in to buy what foreigners have exited after realizing their profits. This is why the higher the index goes, the greater the fear of becoming the "last buyer."
More importantly, this rise is closer to a compressed, lopsided market rather than a broad, even recovery of the entire stock market. The KOSPI is market-cap-weighted. If a few large-cap companies rise significantly, the index goes up even if the remaining hundreds of stocks remain flat or decline. That has been the case recently. Semiconductors and AI, which have seen sharp upward revisions in earnings estimates, and select group stocks that have increased shareholder returns have driven the index.
Ultimately, the essence of the current market is not that "all Korean stocks have revived." It means that a small group of stocks, aligned with global AI trends and policy expectations centered on large conglomerates, is running the show alone. If your portfolio was in this narrow path, your realized returns likely outperformed the index. Conversely, if you were holding KOSDAQ small-caps, outdated theme stocks, or stocks sustained by expectations rather than earnings, the KOSPI at 8800 is bound to feel like a party happening in someone else's house.
Interestingly, this is not unique to Korea. South Korea, Taiwan, and Japan have all reached all-time highs. The simultaneous record-breaking of major Asian manufacturing-based stock markets means that global capital is redrawing the map of money along the axes of AI infrastructure investment and the reorganization of semiconductor supply chains. Even behind the individual buying spree lies an expectation for this shift in industrial power.
So, what should be done now? The answer is neither "everyone return to the Korean market" nor "it's dangerous, escape immediately." What is needed is a cold-headed review of your portfolio. You must check whether your stocks stand at the central axis of this new order. If the power pulling the index up is semiconductors, AI, large-cap IT, and shareholder returns, you must examine whether the companies you own share in that structural profit. The expectation that "since the Korean market is good, my stocks will eventually rise" is dangerous. A market that values capital efficiency encourages a divergence where only the stocks that are meant to go further keep rising.
KOSDAQ and small-cap stocks must be viewed more strictly by the numbers. The market has already raised a warning light with "Smiling KOSPI, Frowning KOSDAQ." Even on days when the index surges, your stocks can still drop. You must judge whether this exclusion is a simple matter of timing or if it stems from a gap in fundamentals and supply-demand structure. If necessary, you need to be decisive in compressing your portfolio.
Above all, one should guard against leverage near the peak and chasing short-term themes. When an index hits a new high, investors easily become impatient. If you fall into the Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO) that "only I missed out," you may end up reaching for high-risk products you wouldn't normally touch. However, in a market where the leaders are clear, a strategy of trying to make up for losses with peripheral themes late in the game can be fatal.
The KOSPI at 8800 is certainly a milestone for the Korean capital market. The fact that it broke a new high even while foreigners sold for 16 consecutive days shows a change in the liquidity supporting the market. At the same time, the weakness of the KOSDAQ and the diverging returns by stock prove that this market is by no means easy for individuals.
Therefore, the question you should be asking right now is not "Will the KOSPI go to 10,000?" The more fundamental question is, "Why is my account detached from the movement of the KOSPI?" If you chase only the numbers in the news without answering this, your assets could face a lonely winter even in the midst of an all-time record prosperity.