South Korea’s KOSPI trades near 6,910 as of mid-September 2026 after peaking above 9,100 in June on explosive semiconductor demand tied to global AI infrastructure spending. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which together exceed 50 percent of index weight, have driven outsized earnings growth and export surges exceeding 60 percent year-over-year, prompting the Bank of Korea and government to lift 2026 GDP forecasts to around 3–4 percent. These fundamentals support trader consensus for a new record before 2028, though elevated volatility—daily swings near 4 percent, the widest among major markets—stemming from leveraged ETF unwindings, foreign net selling, and geopolitical risks around energy imports tempers the implied probability at 69.5 percent. Key near-term catalysts include upcoming corporate earnings, semiconductor export data, and any shifts in U.S. monetary policy or AI capital-expenditure trends that could accelerate or delay recovery above prior highs.