SK hynix wraps up 40 trillion won repurchase weeks early

SK hynix has completed its 40 trillion won (about US$30.2 billion) share repurchase, according to Seoul Economic Daily, Chosunbiz and Maeil Business Newspaper on Oct 21. The purchases ended roughly four weeks before Nov 19, the last day of the window the company had set.

With the program finished, one of the steadiest sources of demand for the stock has left the market. Chosunbiz reported that the Korean market is bracing for the gap this leaves. Maeil Business Newspaper reported that Samsung Electronics had already wrapped up its own repurchase before SK hynix’s came to an end.

A 40 trillion won plan, closed early

In an Aug 19 filing, SK hynix said it would acquire up to 24,070,000 common shares for as much as 40,004,340,000,000 won between Aug 20 and Nov 19. The company gave its aim as lifting shareholder value by canceling the repurchased shares, which retires them rather than keeping them in the treasury.

A one-day rebound inside a steep slide

The stock closed Oct 21 at 1,294,000 won, up 5.81% from 1,223,000 won a session earlier, when it fell 4.23%. At 1,325.2 won per dollar the close was about US$976.46, a 6.04% gain in dollar terms. The KOSPI climbed 3.29% to 5,735.66 the same day, and the TIGER 200 exchange-traded fund gained 3.35%.

That gain barely dented the losses of recent weeks. From Sep 29 to Oct 21 the shares lost 26.69%, or 24.94% in dollars, as the won firmed from 1,356.7 to 1,325.2 per dollar.

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The stock’s size makes its demand matter to the whole market. On Oct 21 SK hynix was worth 945.26 trillion won, or 21.66% of the KOSPI 200’s total market value. Foreign investors posted net selling of 538.8 billion won (about US$406 million) across all KOSPI shares on Oct 20, a market-wide figure rather than one for SK hynix alone. Our explainer shows where to track those daily flows.

Third-quarter call on Oct 28

SK hynix is scheduled to hold a conference call on its third-quarter 2026 results on Oct 28 at 09:00 KST.

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Information only, not investment advice.