Semiconductor Stocks Plunge on Google TurboQuant — "Actual Effect Limited to 2.6x"

*Editor's Note: 'AI PRISM' (Personalized Report & Insight Summarizing Media) is an 'AI-based customized news recommendation and summarization service' developed with support from the Korea Press Foundation. It selects and provides six tailored news stories for each reader type.

1. Semiconductor Shock from Google TurboQuant — Counterargument: "AI Adoption Will Boost Demand"

- Key Summary: After Google Research announced TurboQuant, a compression algorithm that reduces AI memory usage by up to six times, memory stocks fell sharply in unison — Micron (down 3.40%), Samsung Electronics (down 4.71%) and SK hynix (down 6.23%). The sell-off came as peak-out concerns persisted and fears mounted that technological advances could undermine memory demand itself. However, Google's claimed performance improvement is a theoretical maximum based on 32-bit (FP32) calculations, and since 70–80% of actual AI inference already uses 8-bit precision, the real memory reduction is limited to approximately 2.6 times, analysts say. Morgan Stanley noted that lower AI operating costs could serve as a catalyst to expand the overall market, and with the domestic semiconductor sector's 12-month forward P/E ratio at just 6.5 times, the prevailing view is that excessive panic should be avoided.

2. U.S. Upgraded, Japan Unchanged — OECD Cuts Korea's Growth Forecast from 2.1% to 1.7%

- Key Summary: The OECD lowered its 2025 economic growth forecast for South Korea by 0.4 percentage points, from 2.1% to 1.7%. This contrasts with the U.S., which was raised from 1.7% to 2.0%, and Japan, which was held steady at 0.9%. Rising energy import costs from the prolonged Middle East conflict were cited as the key factor, and the inflation forecast also surged by 0.9 percentage points from 1.8% to 2.7%. With Brent crude fluctuating around $100 per barrel and the won-dollar exchange rate exceeding 1,500 won, the April Business Survey Index (BSI) outlook plunged 17.6 points from the previous month to 85.1, signaling a rapid deterioration in corporate sentiment.

3. Hanwha Solutions Announces 2.4 Trillion Won Rights Offering

- Key Summary: Hanwha Solutions resolved to conduct a rights offering with a general public subscription for unexercised shares, issuing 72 million new common shares worth approximately 2.4 trillion won ($1.8 billion). Of the proceeds, 1.5 trillion won will be used to improve the company's financial structure, while 900 billion won will be invested in next-generation solar technologies — 100 billion won for a perovskite tandem pilot line and 800 billion won to expand TOPCon production capacity. Hanwha Solutions set targets of 33 trillion won in revenue and 2.9 trillion won in operating profit by 2030, along with a consolidated debt-to-equity ratio of 100%, and announced a value-up policy allocating 10% of net profit to shareholder returns over the next five years. However, the stock closed at 36,800 won, down 18.2%, on massive dilution concerns following the mid-session disclosure. The Financial Supervisory Service said it would classify the offering as a priority review case given its trillion-won scale.

4. The Paradox of Treasury Share Cancellations — Companies May Lose "High-Dividend" Status

- Key Summary: While treasury share cancellations are increasing due to the revised Commercial Act and value-up policies, a paradoxical situation is emerging where the reduction in dividend-eligible shares through cancellations lowers total cash dividends, potentially disqualifying companies from "high-dividend company" status. The enforcement decree of the Special Tax Treatment Control Act defines the dividend income criterion based on "total cash dividends," meaning companies lose the benefit of separate taxation even if they maintain dividends per share (DPS) when the total amount decreases. Daishin Securities (003540.KS) saw its total dividends fall by 4.9 billion won after canceling preferred shares, and POSCO Holdings (005490.KS) also recorded a difference of approximately 1.3 billion won in total dividends year-on-year from treasury share purchases. Industry participants are calling for revisions to the enforcement decree, as the shareholder-friendly act of canceling treasury shares paradoxically results in tax disadvantages.

5. Align Partners Wins Second Consecutive Shareholder Meeting — Both Nominees Elected at Gabia (079940.KQ)

- Key Summary: Align Partners, a shareholder activist firm, secured a second consecutive shareholder meeting victory after DB Insurance (005830.KS), successfully electing both of its board nominees at Gabia's annual general meeting. Jeon Byung-soo was elected as non-executive director (60.7% approval) and Choi Se-young as outside director (61.4%). In a domestic first, a court-ordered advisory shareholder proposal to disclose executive compensation structures also passed with 61.5% approval. Gabia became the fourth company — after SM Entertainment (041510.KS), JB Financial Group (175330.KS) and DB Insurance — where directors were elected through Align Partners' shareholder proposals. Align Partners' focus is now shifting to upcoming shareholder meetings at Coway, A-Plus Asset and Dentium, with market attention concentrated on whether governance improvements will spread further.

6. "Industry Recovery from 2029" — KDB Sets 3-Year Timeline for Petrochemical Support

- Key Summary: The Korea Development Bank (KDB) is reportedly projecting that the petrochemical industry will recover starting in 2029 as it reviews a business restructuring plan for the Daesan petrochemical complex. According to a due diligence report by Deloitte Anjin, a gradual recovery is expected from 2029 as China's capacity expansion slows, and creditors have agreed to defer repayment of 7.9 trillion won in debt until March 2029 based on this assessment. Ethylene utilization rates are forecast to bottom out at 78.4% in 2027 before recovering above 80% at 80.9% in 2029. However, with oil prices fluctuating above $100 per barrel due to the U.S.-Iran conflict, concerns are rising that the actual recovery timeline could be pushed back as petrochemical conditions deteriorate further.