Daily Brief South Korea: Korea Stock Exchange KOSPI 200, Korea Aerospace Industries, FnGuide Inc, Samsung SDI, Boditech Med, SK Hynix and more

• KRX says the new KRICS framework should stay fairly close to GICS, so using GICS as the base case is the best way to forecast sector mapping at this point.
• KRX simulations show the KRICS switch should not materially change the size of December KOSPI 200 adds and deletes, with existing market cap buffer rules absorbing most sector driven changes.
• Nonetheless, sector uncertainty makes cutoff calls harder, likely delaying KOSPI 200 pre positioning and flow signals until late October, when the new mapping is released.

• In the past several months, Hanwha Group companies purchased additional shares in Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) so their combined stake is now 15.89%.
• Hanwha Aerospace owns 9.9% stake in KAI, followed by Hanwha Systems (4.98%), and Hanwha Aerospace USA (1.01%). 
• I provide four main scenarios of the potential next moves by the Hanwha Group companies regarding Korea Aerospace Industries. 

• FnGuide Inc (064850 KS) announced a significant improvement in its new Corporate Value-Up program. The changes are meaningful and likely to have positive impact on share price.
• FnGuide also plans on share buyback and cancellation of 15 billion won over the next three years (2026 – 2028).
• FnGuide raised total shareholder returns to 40% or higher from 2026 to 2028. Previously, FnGuide did not explicitly mention the total shareholder returns, other than the 25%+ dividend payout ratio.

• Samsung SDI (006400 KS) returned to profitability earlier than expected, thanks to the pivot to AI data center back up system and key EV partnerships. 
• Contrary to popular belief, the AMPC (credit for being green in the US), is still active and contributed to SDI’s bottom meaningfully. 
• As the valuation is relatively depressed right now, we should expect some sort of the Value Up program to kick in and the share price should re-rate. 

• Boditech Med Inc. (206640 KS) is a leading South Korea-based in vitro diagnostics (IVD) company specializing in Point-of-Care Testing (POCT) analyzers (ichroma™ and AFIAS platforms) and consumable diagnostic reagent cartridges across more than 120 global markets.
• Following post-pandemic normalization, the company has delivered strong organic revenue expansion, reaching KRW 162.1bn in 2025 (+17.3% YoY) with sustained gross profit margins above 56% and EBITDA margins in the 23-26% range, powered by non-COVID test menus across cardiovascular, latent tuberculosis (IGRA-TB), therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM), and diabetes.
• Trading at attractive valuation multiples relative to global IVD peers (~7.5-8.5x trailing P/E and ~1.1x P/B), Boditech Med combines robust balance sheet resilience (net cash position), consistent dividend distributions (1.6% yield), and multiple regulatory commercial catalysts in North America and Europe.

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• Panic set in on Monday as SK Hynix (000660 KS) fell -5.05%. The stock has been decelerating in the last few weeks, as discussed here, so this is not surprising. 
• Bypassing narrative commentary on the sell-off, we focus strictly on tactical execution and portfolio positioning.
• Our model’s support price zones have been updated since our latest SK Hynix insight so here is a fresh view: how much can SK Hynix fall and where to buy?