JPMorgan Sets KOSPI Bull Target at 10,000 on AI Memory Chip Boom

JPMorgan has set a bull-case target of 10,000 for South Korea's KOSPI index, which has already surged roughly 71% year-to-date through May 2026, pushing the country's total market cap above $4.5 trillion.

The driving force is a supercycle in high-bandwidth memory (HBM), the critical bottleneck for AI data centers. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are at the center of this boom, with Samsung's semiconductor revenues anticipated to increase nearly 50-fold.

JPMorgan's updated framework sets a base case of 9,000, a bear case of 6,000, and designates South Korea as its top preferred market in the region. Goldman Sachs lifted its own KOSPI target to 9,000 on May 8, citing sustainable chip earnings and positive regulatory changes.

South Korea's GDP grew 1.7% quarter-over-quarter in Q1 2026, the fastest expansion in over five years.