South Korea Tops UK as World's 8th-Largest Stock Market

South Korea's stock market has surpassed the United Kingdom's to become the world's eighth-largest by total market capitalization, reaching 4.04 trillion U.S. dollars as of recent trading, compared with the U.K.'s 3.99 trillion dollars.

The milestone, confirmed by data from Bloomberg and the Korea Exchange, reflects a dramatic 45 percent surge in South Korean equities this year, while the U.K. market rose just 3 percent over the same period. As recently as the end of 2024, the U.K. market was roughly twice the size of South Korea's. The benchmark KOSPI index, which tracks more than 800 companies, climbed to a record high above 6,700 during Tuesday's session before closing at 6,641.02, up 0.39 percent. The secondary Kosdaq index ended slightly lower.

The rally has been propelled primarily by semiconductor giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which together account for more than 40 percent of the KOSPI's market capitalization. Strong global demand for AI infrastructure has fueled explosive earnings growth in these sectors, drawing sustained capital inflows. Government initiatives under President Lee Jae-myung, including corporate governance reforms and pro-market policies,...