MKOR ETF surges 172% to 52-week high on Korea chip rally

The Matthews Korea Active ETF surged 172% from its 52-week low of $25.97 to hit a new high, powered by South Korea's AI-chip driven market rally.

"The concentration in memory manufacturers means the KOSPI amplifies every shift in US chip sentiment," said Chaiwon Lee, chair of Life Asset Management. "Single-stock leveraged ETFs tracking Samsung and SK Hynix have magnified the moves."

The fund, which charges 79 basis points in annual fees, allocates a major share of its holdings to the information technology sector, primarily global memory-chip and semiconductor leaders. South Korea's KOSPI has nearly doubled since January, making it one of the world's best-performing stock markets of 2026. The number of South Korean stock owners surged to more than 14.5 million at the end of 2025 from about 6 million in 2019, according to the Korea Securities Depository.

The rally traces to explosive AI-fueled demand for high-bandwidth memory chips and proactive corporate governance reforms under President Lee Jae-myung's administration, which has targeted the "Korea discount" that long depressed local valuations. The KOSPI blasted past the 5,000-point milestone in January, a level Lee pledged to reach during his campaign. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which together make up about 40% of the index, have delivered record profits from the AI chip boom.

MKOR's weighted alpha of 184.26, as calculated by Barchart, suggests the fund may continue its upward trajectory. The semiconductor supercycle "remains intact," according to Deutsche Bank's Jim Reid, while Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang called recent dips "buying opportunities." Still, the rally's narrow concentration in tech names leaves the market vulnerable to any pullback in US AI spending from hyperscalers such as Microsoft, Apple and Amazon.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.