Goldman Sachs Maintains Bullish 12,000 Target for Kospi

Goldman Sachs reiterated a bullish outlook for South Korean equities, maintaining an overweight rating and a 12-month Kospi target of 12,000. This projection follows significant market volatility where the Kospi index more than doubled during the first half of 2026 before experiencing a 22% decline in July.

The investment bank argues that the recent sell-off was excessive and that investors are underestimating the longevity of the AI-driven memory chip cycle. The firm expects this cycle to support prices and profits through 2030, noting that current market pricing does not reflect this prospect.

Goldman Sachs further observes that market positioning has become cleaner as retail investors reduce borrowed positions and leverage in exchange-traded funds declines. The overall market recovery is heavily dependent on the performance of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which together represent approximately half of the Kospi index.