SK hynix lags Monday rebound as pension fund counts chip losses

Korea’s National Pension Service, the country’s largest investor, took a heavy loss as shares of Samsung Electronics and SK hynix tumbled. Maeil Business Newspaper reported on October 19 that the fund’s equity holdings shed $136 billion in the third quarter, while Bloomberg put the damage from the two chipmakers’ decline at $137 billion.

The two outlets did not give the same figure, and the fund’s own accounting has not been published.

SK hynix’s weight in the KOSPI 200

The pension fund’s loss shows how closely Korea’s market is tied to a pair of memory chip makers. SK hynix alone accounts for about 21.26% of the KOSPI 200’s combined market value. Its own market value stood near 932.84 trillion won (about US$701 billion) on October 19. Pacific Tape looked at how much the pension fund can sway the two chipmakers in a separate article.

A 40.0 trillion won repurchase and a results call

SK hynix plans to acquire 24,070,000 common shares worth about 40.0 trillion won (about US$30.1 billion) between August 20 and November 19, 2026. The company says it will cancel the repurchased shares to raise shareholder value. It is scheduled to hold a conference call on its third-quarter 2026 results on October 28 at 09:00 KST.

A month of steep losses, then a small Monday gain

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Between September 23 and October 19, SK hynix lost 31.42% in won and 29.97% in dollars. The smaller dollar loss reflects a firmer won, which moved from 1,358.4 to 1,330.3 per dollar over that span, a 2.07% decline in the rate. Much of the damage came in the last five sessions, when its market value fell 20.44%. On October 15 the stock dropped 11.06%, from 1,419,000 won to 1,262,000 won, during the worst week for Samsung and SK hynix since 2008.

On Monday SK hynix ended at 1,277,000 won (about US$959.93), up 0.39% from 1,272,000 won on Friday, October 16, or 0.48% in dollar terms. The KOSPI advanced 1.76% to 5,768.01, and the TIGER 200 ETF, which tracks the KOSPI 200, gained 1.32%.

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Information only, not investment advice.