Goldman Sachs' Asia‑Pacific equity strategist Timothy Moe reaffirmed the bank's price target of 12,000 points for South Korea's benchmark KOSPI index. At current levels the target represents a potential gain of just over 70%.
The reaffirmation follows a sharp correction in the index, which has fallen about 25% from its all‑time high reached in mid‑June 2026 and at times traded as much as 45% below that peak.
Moe argued that investor concerns over the durability of the AI‑driven chip spending boom and the volatility of South Korean market leaders are overstated. He highlighted the concentration of the index in two semiconductor giants – Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix – which together account for roughly 50% of the KOSPI’s market weight.
Those two stocks have driven the bulk of the index's performance this year, contributing about 81% of the 69% total index gain recorded so far. Earnings per share growth expectations are steep: SK Hynix is projected to increase EPS nearly sixfold, while Samsung's EPS is expected to rise more than sevenfold.
For 2027, Moe forecasts the average EPS growth for the two firms to moderate to around 35%, a slowdown that he says is already priced into the market.
Goldman Sachs maintains that the expected earnings expansion, rather than speculative concerns, is the primary catalyst for the KOSPI's upside potential.
