Samsung Electronics logged a steep selloff of more than 8% despite announcing a ￦110 trillion payout plan/Photo=Created by Jemini
On the 24th, the KOSPI closed at 6,696.96 points, down 3.12% from the previous trading day, breaking through the 6,700 level. On the same day, the KOSDAQ index finished up 1.42% at 813.33 points, showing a sharply contrasting trend. The epicenter of the selloff was Samsung Electronics, which announced the largest-ever shareholder return in domestic listed-company history.
Samsung Electronics delivered ￦110 trillion, but fell more than 8%
Samsung Electronics, after the market close on the 21st, announced its 2026 shareholder return plan with a maximum size of ￦110 trillion. The company said it would first distribute about ￦30 trillion in cash dividends, including regular dividends for the third quarter, and that the detailed execution method for the remaining amount would be decided at a board meeting in January of next year. It was a bold scale—about five times the previous record set in 2020.
But on the 24th, Samsung Electronics’ stock price instead tumbled more than 8%. The market viewed it as falling short of heightened expectations. In particular, analysts said disappointment grew into sellable shares because, even with the record-largest size, no specific measures were provided such as share buybacks or cancellations. This stands in contrast to SK Hynix, which earlier laid out a plan to acquire and cancel treasury shares worth ￦40 trillion. Samsung Life Insurance and Samsung C&T—both of which hold Samsung Electronics shares—also fell together. Even SK Hynix, which had risen earlier in the morning, reversed to decline during the day and finished lower in the 3% range.
The 6,700 level ultimately broke as well
On the day, the KOSPI started down 0.46%, then widened its losses, slipping as far as the 6,650 level at one point during trading before finishing at 6,696.96. On the supply-and-demand front, foreign investors sold a net ￦360 billion won-plus, dragging the index down, and institutions also joined the selling. Meanwhile, individual investors bought a net more than ￦330 billion won, stepping in with bargain purchases at lower prices.
KOSDAQ faces buying pressure in reaction to the surge in secondhand batteries
The KOSDAQ, in contrast to the KOSPI, rose 1.42% to close at 813.33. Bargain-buying inflows came after the index dropped more than 4% last Friday (the 21st). In addition, expectations for a rebound in the industry helped pull buying interest into secondary battery stocks. On the day, EcoPro surged in the 7% range and EcoPro BM jumped in the 10% range, leading the index higher.
The won-dollar exchange rate falls for the seventh straight trading day
In the Seoul foreign exchange market, the won-dollar exchange rate was 1,382.4 won as of 3:30 p.m., down 4.1 won from the prior session’s weekly trading close. At one point during the day, it fell below 1,380 won, extending the seventh consecutive day of decline.
The sharp drop in Samsung Electronics on the day is seen as more than a routine correction; it had the character of disappointment-led sellable shares driven by the absence of concrete execution measures such as share buybacks and cancellations, separate from the headline figure of a record-largest amount. Because the remaining return measures will be confirmed at a board meeting in January of next year, volatility around large-cap semiconductor stocks is likely to persist until then.
With major external events overlapping—such as the Jackson Hole Symposium scheduled for this week (the 24th to the 28th) and Nvidia’s earnings announcement—market volatility is expected to continue for the time being.
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