NVIDIA's CEO came to Korea in person and announced an AI data center at Saemangeum. Among SK Hynix, Hyundai Motor, and LG, who is the real beneficiary — and why did the stocks fall anyway when the announcement sounded so positive?
2026-06-10
First: Why Was the KOSPI Down 8.3% on the Day of the Announcement?
On June 8, CEO Jensen Huang made AI cooperation announcements in Seoul with five Korean conglomerates: SK, LG, Hyundai Motor, Naver, and Doosan. Yet the KOSPI closed -8.3%, Samsung Electronics -10.2%, and SK Hynix -7.7% on the same day (FIRSTonline, 2026-06-08). The reason for this apparent contradiction is simple. The announcement was good news, but the market was processing much stronger bad news on the same day (the NFP surprise re-confirming a Fed hike path). The near-term macro shock overwhelmed the individual catalyst — the value of the NVIDIA-Korea partnership itself did not disappear.
Who Among the Five Benefits First and Most Concretely?
The key to distinguishing the beneficiaries is timeline and contract structure.
| Company | Agreement | When Benefits Materialize | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| SK Hynix | Multi-year HBM supply contract (Blackwell and next-gen GPUs) | Immediately (deliveries already underway) | Micron gaining ground |
| SK Telecom | Gigawatt-scale AI cloud buildout | 2027 (data center operational) | Heavy upfront capex |
| Doosan | Materials for Blackwell chips + energy solutions | 2027–2028 | Risk of material substitution |
| LG | Humanoid robots + data center design | 2027 or later | Market formation uncertain |
| Hyundai Motor | Saemangeum AI Valley — ₩9 trillion national project | 2027 groundbreaking/operations | National projects prone to delays |
SK Hynix is the only company with an immediate benefit, as the supply relationship with NVIDIA already exists. The remaining four companies all require physical operations to commence in 2027 or later.
Realistic Timeline for the Saemangeum AI Valley
Construction of NVIDIA's AI R&D center at Saemangeum is scheduled for groundbreaking in the second half of 2026, with operations in 2027 (Korea Herald, 2026-06-08). The ₩9 trillion national project remains at the "under discussion" rather than "signed contract" stage. National infrastructure projects in Korea typically run 6–12 months behind schedule.
The real signal investors should watch for is the official groundbreaking approval announcement in the second half of 2026. Until that announcement, the stock price has likely already discounted a portion of the expectation premium.
How to Approach Each Stock or ETF in Practice
SK Hynix (005930): HBM deliveries are already ongoing, so the stock is directly tied to growth in NVIDIA AI demand. However, after already experiencing a +15% rebound from circuit-breaker lows, chasing the stock aggressively is less compelling than a phased approach.
Hyundai Motor and LG positions are in expectation-trading territory until at least the 2027 groundbreaking is confirmed. Long-term holders should assess how much of the benefit expectation has already been priced in using P/B and P/E metrics.
For investors seeking broad exposure to the Korean AI infrastructure theme, TIGER 200 IT ETF or KODEX Semiconductor ETF offer a lower-risk diversified approach compared to individual stock picks. The core question is not "NVIDIA is coming to Korea" — it is whether you can wait until revenue actually appears on the income statement.