Korea Tech Daily — 2026-06-01
Samsung Electronics becomes Korea's first ₩2 trillion company as Jensen Huang's imminent Korea visit energizes Korean chip and tech stocks. SK Hynix's market cap closes in on Samsung at a record-low gap, while the government pledges to reinvest semiconductor boom tax revenues into AI and robotics. --> <!-- headline --> Samsung hits ₩2 trillion as Nvidia chief's Korea visit electrifies chip rally<!-- /headline -->
Korea Tech Daily — 2026-06-01
Samsung Electronics becomes Korea's first ₩2 trillion company as Jensen Huang's imminent Korea visit energizes Korean chip and tech stocks. SK Hynix's market cap closes in on Samsung at a record-low gap, while the government pledges to reinvest semiconductor boom tax revenues into AI and robotics. -->
Top Story
Samsung Electronics crossed a historic milestone today, becoming South Korea's first company to surpass a ₩2 trillion ($1.32 trillion USD) market capitalization, cementing its position as the nation's most valuable firm. The surge reflects sustained investor confidence in the semiconductor sector amid the global AI boom, which has driven unprecedented demand for memory chips used in advanced AI systems. Jensen Huang's announced Korea visit this week is expected to intensify focus on Samsung and SK Hynix as critical suppliers in Nvidia's AI ecosystem, signaling potential new partnerships and orders.
Samsung · SK Hynix · LG
Samsung, SK Hynix Named Top Winners of Huang's Korea Visit Hana Securities expects Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix to be the biggest beneficiaries of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's Korea visit, citing high-bandwidth memory (HBM) demand as the critical supply chain bottleneck driving orders. The visit signals potential acceleration in AI chip partnerships and collaborations with Korea's leading semiconductor makers.
SK Hynix Market Cap Edges Closer to Samsung at Record-Low Gap SK Hynix's market capitalization reached 93.2% of Samsung Electronics', narrowing the historic gap to just 119 trillion won as of May 31. This record-low spread has reignited speculation about a potential reversal of Korea's top-two tech rankings, with some analysts warning such a flip could signal a market top.
Samsung and SK Hynix Back Anthropic at $965 Billion Valuation Both Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have taken strategic stakes in Anthropic, the AI company behind Claude models, as part of a Series H funding round that values Anthropic at $965 billion—making it the world's most valuable AI company ahead of OpenAI. The move signals Korean chip giants' commitment to deepening ties with leading AI developers.
Naver · Kakao · LINE
No recent announcements from Naver, Kakao, or LINE were published in the past 24 hours (after 2026-05-30).
Startups & Investment
Korea Expands Foreign Founder Support Beyond Capital Region South Korea's Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) announced expansion of Global Startup Centers beyond Seoul to attract more international founders. Startup visa holders in Korea reached a record 594 by April 2026, up from 538 in the prior year, signaling growing interest in Korea's startup ecosystem.
Korea Targets Top-3 Robotics Power Through Physical AI Investment At Seoul Forum 2026's Robotics Venture Forum, Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) pledged R&D funding, infrastructure support, and corporate backing to position Korea among the world's top three robotics powers by leveraging physical AI technology. The initiative aims to address manufacturing slowdowns through next-generation automation.
Policy & Industry
Korea to Reinvest Semiconductor Boom Tax Revenue in AI and Chips South Korea's top economic officials—Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol and Budget Committee Chair Park Hong-keun—announced plans to reinvest excess tax revenue from the semiconductor sector boom into AI development, advanced chip manufacturing, and youth entrepreneurship programs. The move aims to sustain growth momentum and support the next generation of tech entrepreneurs.
Korea Adds AI and Robotics Categories to 2025 Economic Census South Korea's upcoming 2025 Economic Census (running June 1–July 22) has added artificial intelligence, robotics, and unmanned stores as new survey categories. The government is also reducing on-site survey requirements to 44.4% of 7.53 million businesses to improve efficiency while better capturing the digital economy's evolution.
Korean PE Investors Adopt 'AI Defensibility' as Key Screening Criterion South Korea's major institutional investors are now prioritizing "AI defensibility"—or resilience to artificial intelligence disruption—as a new screening criterion when selecting private equity managers and portfolio companies, reflecting broader concerns about AI's impact on traditional business models.
What to Watch
- Jensen Huang's Korea Meetings: Watch for official announcements of partnerships, joint projects, or orders between Nvidia and Samsung/SK Hynix following the Nvidia CEO's visit this week—signals that could further drive chip sector valuations.
- SK Hynix vs. Samsung Market Cap Race: Monitor whether SK Hynix's accelerating valuation closes the remaining 119 trillion won gap to become Korea's most valuable company, a potential indicator of sector consolidation dynamics.
- Government AI Investment Rollout: Track implementation details of Korea's reinvestment of semiconductor boom tax revenue into AI and robotics initiatives—key indicators of strategic tech policy direction for 2026–2027.
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