SK Hynix’s Pension-Fund Backing Collides With a $644 Million Divorce Shock
Published on 07/25/2026 at 04:41 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
The South Korean chipmaker is being pulled in opposite directions. One of the country’s largest institutional investors is piling into SK Hynix shares at a pace unseen this year, while a court ruling against the company’s chairman has injected a fresh layer of uncertainty into an already volatile stock.
The National Pension Service has emerged as the biggest net buyer of SK Hynix equity in July, with purchases totaling roughly 440 billion won, according to a report by broadcaster MBC. The buying comes as the stock has shed more than a third of its value from a record high reached just weeks ago. Analysts cited in the report argue the pension fund sees the sell-off as overdone relative to the company’s earnings trajectory, particularly given sustained demand for memory chips used in artificial intelligence applications.
That institutional confidence, however, is being tested by a personal legal battle involving SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won. On Friday, the Seoul High Court ordered Chey to pay his estranged wife, Roh Soh-yeong, 944 billion won — equivalent to roughly $644 million — in a divorce settlement. While the sum is lower than the 1.38 trillion won originally awarded in 2024, and the court excluded any contribution from illegal funds in its calculation, the ruling still represents a significant cash liability for the chairman. Crucially for shareholders, Chey’s 17.9% stake in SK Inc. — the holding company that controls SK Hynix — remains untouched, though much of that holding is pledged as collateral for an existing loan. Both parties retain the right to appeal.
The divorce news landed on a day already defined by broader market turmoil. South Korea’s KOSPI index plunged 5.72% to 6,690.62 points, breaking below the 7,000 mark and triggering a five-minute trading halt — the fifth such sidecar activation in consecutive sessions. The trigger was geopolitical: escalating tensions in the Middle East after US President Donald Trump threatened Iran with a “massive attack.” Brent crude surged past $100 a barrel, while WTI traded near $92. Foreign and institutional investors dumped a combined 5.2 trillion won in Korean equities, though retail investors stepped in to buy 5.18 trillion won worth.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying SK Hynix?
SK Hynix bore the brunt of the semiconductor rout. Its Seoul-listed shares crashed 8.34% to 1,759,000 won, shaving roughly 114 trillion won from market capitalization. Samsung Electronics fell 7.59% in sympathy. Both chip giants were further pressured by a bearish note from Morgan Stanley on the semiconductor sector. The selling extended to the US, where SK Hynix’s American depositary receipts dropped 6% to $158.56, dragging down Micron Technology, SanDisk, and Western Digital.
The divergence between the Korean and US listings has become a story in itself. Owen Lamont of asset manager Acadian warned that SK Hynix ADRs were at one point trading at a premium of up to 50% over the Seoul-listed shares — far above the historical norm of 2% to 4% for comparable conversion structures. He drew parallels to the dot-com bubble and Infosys’s US listing at the time. Korean retail investors had poured a net $500 million into the US-listed securities through July 17. Starting July 29 — the same day SK Hynix reports second-quarter earnings — the conversion of domestic shares into ADRs will begin, which market observers expect could narrow the premium.
Despite the recent turbulence, the stock’s longer-term trajectory remains striking. SK Hynix is still up 195.37% year-to-date, even after sliding 35.75% from its all-time high of 2,987,000 won reached on June 25. The shares now trade 12.77% below their 50-day moving average of roughly 2.2 million won, underscoring the severity of the correction. The annualized 30-day volatility of 116.07% reflects the frayed nerves in the market.
SK Hynix at a turning point? This analysis reveals what investors need to know now.
All eyes now turn to July 29, when SK Hynix will release its second-quarter results. The report will serve as a critical test of whether the recent weakness reflects genuine demand concerns or merely a cooling-off after an extraordinary run tied to AI chip demand and the company’s Nasdaq listing earlier this month. The earnings will also be read against the strong forecast from rival Micron, which reported a 346% revenue surge to $41.46 billion for its third fiscal quarter and guided for roughly $50 billion in the following quarter. SK Hynix’s most recent quarterly figures showed revenue jumping 198% to $35.5 billion and profit climbing roughly 400% to about $27 billion, with an operating margin of 72% and a 58% market share in high-bandwidth memory chips.
The National Pension Service’s buying spree suggests at least one heavyweight investor is betting the sell-off has gone too far. Whether the broader market agrees will become clearer when the numbers land.
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