Korea’s world-beating stocks are now trading cheaper than ever

South Korea's Kospi index has surged around 80% this year on record earnings from Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, yet trades at just 6.4 times forward earnings, below 2008 crisis levels. Forward EPS estimates for Kospi companies are up around 170% year-to-date, the largest annual increase since 2006, driven by memory-chip price gains tied to AI infrastructure spending. However, analysts caution that cheap valuations may reflect market scepticism over the durability of the memory super-cycle, with risks from hyperscaler cost optimisation, Chinese competition, and earnings cyclicity.