S. Korea stocks slump over 9% as AI spending fears hammer chip stocks

South Korea’s KOSPI fell more than 9%, triggering a circuit breaker, as investors sold semiconductor names on fears that aggressive AI infrastructure spending may not justify valuations. SK Hynix dropped over 11% and Samsung Electronics fell nearly 10%, together weighing heavily on the index because they make up more than half of its weighting. The selloff was intensified by a nearly 5% overnight drop in NVIDIA after reports it may help finance a large OpenAI data center project, which reinforced worries about the cost and sustainability of AI capex. The article also notes rising competitive pressure from Chinese chipmakers, adding another layer of uncertainty for South Korea’s memory and semiconductor sector. Overall, the piece signals broad risk-off sentiment in Asian tech and a sharp re-rating of AI-linked chip stocks.