[Edaily Reporter Kwon Oh Seok ] Domestic investor sentiment froze rapidly amid a semiconductor shock originating in China, leading to a “Black Tuesday.” SamsungElectronics(005930)Anxiety reached a peak as concerns grew that the DRAM oligopoly held by SK hynix(000660)and others could collapse, compounded by news that China has begun mass production of deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography equipment. The securities industry warned against “panic selling,” noting that while this could weigh on investor sentiment toward semiconductor stocks in the short term, SamsungElectronics and SK hynix are expected to maintain their dominance in the medium to long term.

◇ Samsung and SK INICS Corporation Plunge in Tandem Following ‘Changxin Memory’ IPO
According to MP Doctor on the 28th, the KOSPI closed at 6,023.66, a sharp drop of 10.84% from the previous trading day. In the latter part of the session, the index even broke below the 6,000 mark, falling as low as 5,992.91. The KOSDAQ also closed at 705.85, down 7.72%, barely holding onto the 700-point mark. In particular, SamsungElectronics closed at 220,000 won, down 13.39%, and SK hynix closed at 1.55 million won, down 14.65%, leading the index’s decline.
The main factor behind the stock market’s sharp decline was China’s push into the semiconductor sector. Chinese memory chip maker “Changxin Memory Technology” (CXMT; hereinafter “Changxin Memory”) made its debut on the STAR Market—China’s version of the Nasdaq—the previous day (the 27th), closing at 49.0 yuan (approximately 10,637 KRW), up 465.82% from its opening price. Its market capitalization at the time stood at 3.28 trillion yuan (approximately 712 trillion won), propelling it to the top spot in China’s market capitalization rankings immediately after its listing.

Local Chinese media also reported that Changxin Memory surpassed Intel’s market capitalization (approximately 684 trillion won) following its listing. On the same day, the market capitalizations of SamsungElectronics(005930)and SK hynix(000660)stood at approximately 1,485 trillion won and 1,294 trillion won, respectively; Changxin Memory had effectively closed in on half of those figures on its very first day of trading. However, on that day, the stock closed at 47.06 yuan, down 3.96% from the previous trading day, showing signs of a pullback—perhaps due to fatigue following the previous day’s sharp rise.
Changxin Memory is the world’s fourth-largest DRAM manufacturer, trailing South Korea’s SamsungElectronics and SK hynix, as well as the U.S.-based Micron. The company expects its revenue and net profit for the first half of this year to reach up to 120 billion yuan (approximately 26 trillion won) and 75 billion yuan (approximately 16.3 trillion won), respectively. In particular, the market believes that Changxin Memory could threaten the “Big 3” by using the funds raised from this IPO to enhance its technological capabilities.
In addition, news that China has begun mass-producing DUV lithography equipment weighed on the domestic stock market. Earlier, Bloomberg reported that a state-owned enterprise headquartered in Shanghai had started producing immersion DUV lithography equipment. However, the name of the company was not disclosed due to the sensitivity of the matter.
DUV is lithography equipment that uses light to etch extremely small circuits onto wafers. Although its technological level is lower than that of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) equipment—which enables the creation of smaller circuits and reduces the number of process steps—it is widely used. Since lithography equipment has long been identified as the biggest bottleneck in China’s semiconductor industry, global competition in the memory sector could intensify if China improves its production capacity through this technology.
◇Concerns Over AI Investment Peaking Also Have an Impact… Samsung and SK INICS Corporation Fundamentals Remain ‘Solid’
The prevailing market sentiment that AI investment has peaked also had an impact. Concerns that massive liquidity has been excessively concentrated in technology and AI-related sectors are also weighing on the domestic stock market. This is evidenced by Apple, which improved its financial position by refraining from excessive AI investment and reclaimed the top spot in market capitalization at $4.948 trillion (approximately 7,260 trillion won), surpassing NVIDIA ($4.756 trillion).
However, the securities industry is drawing a line against premature pessimism. Kim Dong-won, Head of Research at KB Securities, stated, “Driven by the Chinese government’s push for AI advancement, the increase in memory demand within China is outpacing the increase in supply; therefore, we believe the likelihood of excess memory supply affecting markets outside China is limited.”
He added, “SamsungElectronics and SK hynix are seeing a sharp increase in the proportion of AI server-bound memory, driven primarily by long-term supply agreements (LTAs) with U.S. Big Tech companies, so there will be no overlap in core customer bases with Changxin Memory,” and argued that “the fundamentals of the memory sector (including SamsungElectronics and SK hynix) remain solid.”
Han Ji-young, an analyst at KIWOOM Securities, noted, “It is important to note that Changxin Memory is not yet included in the Hu-Gong-Tong list of stocks that foreign investors can freely trade,” adding, “While the success of Changxin Memory’s IPO may have a psychological impact, it suggests that the actual risk of a supply-demand shift is limited.”
She further explained, “The manufacturer’s name and performance specifications for the DUV have not been precisely disclosed. Given that the initial production volume is reported to be just five units, rising to only 20 units by 2027, ASML’s production capacity—which targets 130 units this year—still holds a competitive advantage.” She added, “As investor sentiment has weakened following the sharp correction in semiconductor stocks since July, the market is reacting sensitively even to news about China’s DUV equipment production.”