Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) has become one of the hottest large-cap AI trades in the world, climbing roughly 275% over the past year, even after Friday’s chip-led rout.
Behind Samsung’s surge is one of the stranger echoes from an earlier market mania
DI Corp (003160.KS), the Korean semiconductor equipment maker once swept up in the frenzy around Psy’s “Gangnam Style,” is back on the AI map through its Digital Frontier subsidiary. But the chart shows how much the Korean memory trade has moved beyond the novelty of a viral-stock callback. DI has gained about 40% over the past year, a strong move in most markets.
Samsung has done several times that, with the gap widening since early May as the AI memory trade became less about niche suppliers and more about the biggest names tied to the next wave of high-bandwidth memory. DI still belongs in the story. Its stock has lagged the latest chip-led rally, but its Digital Frontier unit has been supplying HBM4 wafer testers to SK Hynix (000660.KS).