6,625.93KOSPI · Oct 8 close · down 2.62% despite Samsung's 107 trillion; foreigners net sold 2 trillion won

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, THU., OCT. 8, 2026No. 4 · 6:00 p.m. KST6 p.m. KST
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Business · EarningsSource ✓ Samsung Electronics preliminary earnings filing · Press ✓ 4 outlets

Samsung Electronics Q3 operating profit hits 107.4 trillion won. A first 'quarterly 100 trillion' for a Korean company

Revenue reached 195 trillion won. Operating profit rose 782.5% from a year earlier and 20% from three months earlier. The preliminary figures are just two lines; results by division come with final earnings at the end of the month

Samsung Electronics filed its preliminary earnings for the third quarter on Oct. 8. Consolidated revenue was 195 trillion won and operating profit 107.4 trillion won. No Korean company had ever cleared 100 trillion won in operating profit in a single quarter. By the company's figures, operating profit rose 782.5% from the same period last year and 20% from the second quarter (89.4 trillion won). Revenue also grew about 14% from 171 trillion won in the second quarter. After 57.2 trillion won in the first quarter and 89.4 trillion won in the second, it is a third straight quarterly record, and against the third quarter a year ago (about 12 trillion won), profit is roughly 8.8 times larger. A simple division of the two numbers gives an operating margin of about 55%. Of every 100 won in sales, 55 won stayed as profit from the core business. That is rare in manufacturing, where single digits are the norm. Preliminary figures carry only two lines, revenue and operating profit. Results by division, such as semiconductors (DS) and mobile, and where the profit came from will arrive with final earnings at the end of the month. Until then, any figure for 'how much came from chips' is a brokerage estimate.

Analysts point first to AI server spending, which has lifted prices not only for HBM but also for commodity DRAM and NAND. Some say profit could grow further next year as HBM supply rises. The same day, the Bank of Korea (한국은행) reported an August current account surplus of $46.1 billion, the second largest on record, on the back of chip exports. One industry's boom showed up in corporate earnings and the national accounts on the same day. The market reacted differently. In yesterday's No. 3 we wrote that 'whether it tops 100 trillion is the key to another run at KOSPI 7,000.' The number topped it; the index fell. Many attribute the drop to selling tied to ETF rebalancing on top of a third straight day of foreign selling (see the ticker for the closing level). Samsung shares opened weaker right after the results, while SK hynix was up more than 2% at one point in the morning, a split within the same memory sector. Tomorrow is Hangeul Day, so Korean markets are closed; the next trading day is Monday. The next questions are whether the good numbers were already priced in and how long the rise in memory prices will last. The industry's long experience is that once rivals add capacity and supply catches up, profit shrinks quickly.

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By the numbers
₩107.4TQ3 operating profit. First Korean company past 100 trillion won in a quarter
₩195TQ3 revenue. More than double a year ago (86 trillion)
+20%Operating profit vs. the prior quarter, up from 89.4 trillion won
Finance · AuditPress ✓ 4 outlets · loss figures are cited estimates

Audit grills '54 trillion won loss' in single-stock leveraged ETFs. FSC chief Lee Eog-weon: "Not a presidential order … we should have looked harder"

The National Assembly's National Policy Committee (정무위원회) held its parliamentary audit of the Financial Services Commission (금융위원회) on Oct. 8. The biggest issue was single-stock leveraged ETFs, which track a multiple of one stock's daily move. The opposition said investor losses from the peak have reached 54 trillion won by brokerage estimates (Citi puts the figure at 56 trillion won) and pressed on why the products were rushed in and whether the presidential office applied pressure. FSC Chairman Lee Eog-weon answered, "It was not an order from the presidential office" and "we introduced it after hearing a range of views," but added, "It was a needed product, but we should have looked harder." In September the People Power Party filed a complaint with the Corruption Investigation Office (공수처) against Lee, Financial Supervisory Service Governor Lee Chan-jin and former presidential policy chief Kim Yong-beom. None of the 39 ETF-related witnesses the party requested was approved, because the ruling party objected, so no one who could explain the decision firsthand was in the hearing room. The FSC has said since July that it is reviewing fixes such as higher deposit requirements, adjusted leverage multiples and per-investor limits, but no final plan has come out. At the same hearing, Lee said the Digital Asset Basic Act is "in the final stage of consultations" and pledged to push it quickly.

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Word of the day
leverageFinance

Literally, a lever. A structure that uses borrowed money or derivatives to double or triple an underlying asset's daily return. Gains are large when prices rise, but when prices swing up and down repeatedly, principal erodes even if the index ends flat. Bet on a single stock and the swings grow larger.

Policy · AgriculturePress ✓ 4 outlets · attributed to government announcement

Farmland full survey: inherited land, elderly farmers and leases spared forced sale. 'Three punishments, five exceptions' draw the line, with a special measures act by year-end

The government on Oct. 8 set out how it will handle the results of its full survey of farmland. Inherited farmland, land that owners can no longer farm themselves because of age, and land under long-standing lease arrangements will be excluded from forced sale. Punishment will focus on speculative purchases and serious illegal conversion. The line is drawn with three categories of punishment and five of exceptions, and customary leases and unpermitted facilities will be legalized through a special measures act. Farmland whose actual use differs from its land category on paper will be allowed a temporary change of category.

The speculation the government and ruling party cited earlier includes buying land with a false farming plan and then leaving it idle or secretly leasing it out, and farming corporations using farmland to run a real estate business. Prime Minister Kim Min-seok told farmers at a rice harvest, "Don't worry about the farmland survey." The goal is a special measures act within the year and a revision of the Farmland Act in the first half of next year.

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Society · SecurityPress ✓ 4 outlets · suspect's identity unconfirmed

Hack hits seven financial firms; police narrow in on the attacker. FSC chief: "Even the basics fell short"

Police investigating the hacking of seven financial firms, including Shinhan, KB Kookmin, Hana and BNK Busan banks, two savings banks and Hyundai Capital, are speeding up efforts to identify the attacker. A 28-member dedicated task force has been set up, and the same attacker's IP address turned up in intrusion records at several companies. Chinese-language strings were found on the attack server. Some outlets reported that the attacker is in his 20s and lives in China, but police have not announced that.

FSC Chairman Lee Eog-weon told the audit that "even basic parts of the hacking response fell short" and said AI should be used for defense. The National Policy Committee called the heads of the five largest banks as witnesses. The Financial Supervisory Service sent the attack IPs to about 500 financial firms. No financial losses have been confirmed so far.

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Politics · JusticePress ✓ 3 outlets · attributed to speakers

Justice Ministry audit swallowed by 'Lee Hwa-young parole.' Acting minister: "Legal requirements not met"

The National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee (법제사법위원회) held its parliamentary audit of the Ministry of Justice on Oct. 8. Dropped indictments and the abolition of the Prosecutors' Office were the expected issues, but questions turned to parole for Lee Hwa-young, former vice governor for peace affairs of Gyeonggi Province, who is serving a finalized sentence in the illicit remittance-to-North Korea case. The acting justice minister answered that "the legal requirements for parole have not been met." Under current standards, that means he is not eligible for parole review.

The People Power Party said Lee received prison visits "practically once a day" and argued that frequent visits by ruling-party figures were meant to keep him quiet. Rep. Chung Jeom-sik likened the relationship between President Lee Jae-myung and the former vice governor to a 'prisoner's dilemma.' The Reform Party called the parole demands "a threat" and demanded that the president's trials resume.

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In brief
  • Starting at the end of this month, Samsung Wallet users in the U.S. will be able to send stablecoins. Coins pegged to the dollar become a transfer tool inside a phone wallet연합
  • Japan's current account stays in surplus for a 19th straight month, driven largely by rising dividends from overseas. A model of earning through investment rather than exports is taking hold연합
  • U.S. households' one-year inflation expectations hit 3.9%, the highest in three and a half years. Treasury yields jumped and all three major Wall Street indexes fell overnight연합
  • Korean government bond yields mostly fell. The three-year yield dropped as low as 3.964% intraday, moving opposite to U.S. Treasurys연합
  • FSC Chairman Lee Eog-weon: "As rates rise, we will cut rates and expand supply for policy loans to low-income borrowers." A pledge made in his audit testimony연합
  • Hyundai's all-new Nexo reaches a cumulative 11% share in Japan five months after launch. The number stands out because it came on the home turf of hydrogen-car leader Toyota연합
  • China's BYD sees electric-vehicle sales jump 77% this year. Outside China it is closing in on Tesla. Korea is no exception연합
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Unverified — what we could not confirm

"The financial-sector hacker is a 26-year-old in Guangdong, China." Only reports that police are narrowing in. No official word on nationality, age or residence.
"The presidential office pushed through leveraged ETFs." An opposition claim, denied by the FSC chairman. With a complaint filed, the facts will be settled by investigation.
"The survey will take even inherited fields." Under the government's rules, inherited land, elderly farmers and customary leases are excluded from forced sale. Only speculation and serious illegal conversion are punished.
Glossary · dotted words — economics, law, security and science terms explained in the context of the story. The list grows every day.
INSIDESamsung Electronics Q3 operating profit hits 107.4 trillion won. A first 'quarterly 100 trillion' for a Korean companyBusiness · EarningsAudit grills '54 trillion won loss' in single-stock leveraged ETFs. FSC chief Lee Eog-weon: "Not a presidential order … we should have looked harder"Finance · AuditFarmland full survey: inherited land, elderly farmers and leases spared forced sale. 'Three punishments, five exceptions' draw the line, with a special measures act by year-endPolicy · AgricultureHack hits seven financial firms; police narrow in on the attacker. FSC chief: "Even the basics fell short"Society · SecurityJustice Ministry audit swallowed by 'Lee Hwa-young parole.' Acting minister: "Legal requirements not met"Politics · Justice