Samsung Develops 8nm MRAM, Achieves Industry-Leading Yield

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

1. Samsung Develops First 8nm MRAM, Seizing Leadership of 'Dream Memory'

- Key Summary: Samsung Electronics foundry researchers announced at ISSCC 2026 the implementation of embedded MRAM on an 8nm FinFET process and achievement of mass-production yield, marking the first case of actual manufacturing and performance verification of MRAM on the industry's most advanced process. Compared to the existing 14nm, write speed improved by 62.5%, integration density by 11.5%, and overall Figure of Merit (FoM) by 52.9%. Samsung plans mass production of 5nm MRAM next year, while Taiwan's TSMC is also preparing to complete 5nm mass production at the same time, setting the stage for full-scale competition. Capable of retaining information without power and operating 1,000 times faster than NAND, MRAM is regarded as a core technology targeting next-generation memory demand for AI semiconductors.

2. KOSPI Celebrates 6,200 With SK hynix Record High, While Samsung Falls 500 Won Short

- Key Summary: The KOSPI closed at 6,226.05, up 134.66 points (2.21%) from the previous day, recovering the 6,200 level on a closing basis for the first time since February 27. Foreigners shifted from net selling in the morning to net buying of 464.3 billion won in the afternoon, while institutions bought 1.0975 trillion won, leading the rally. SK hynix set another all-time high at 1.154 million won, extending the previous day's record, while Samsung Electronics marked its highest level since March at 217,500 won (+3.08%) but fell 500 won short of its previous peak (218,000 won). Network and optical communication stocks plunged en masse, while quantum-related stocks hit limit-up in clusters, indicating a rapid rotation of theme-leading stocks, analysts said.

3. China's Semiconductor Industry Passes 40% AI Chip Self-Sufficiency, Targeting Korea's Weaknesses

- Key Summary: Based on IDC data, Chinese companies' share of their domestic AI chip market last year reached 41% (including Huawei's 20%), and Morgan Stanley forecasts that self-sufficiency will expand to 76% by 2030. According to the U.S. SIA, within the total semiconductor market ($791.7 billion) last year, memory accounted for 28% ($223.1 billion), while logic semiconductors formed a larger market at 38% ($301.9 billion). Harvard's Belfer Center noted that Korea's system semiconductor market share is declining and ranked Korea's semiconductor competitiveness fifth, behind the United States, China, Japan, and Taiwan. Experts said that to prevent an earnings vacuum after the end of the memory boom, Korea must rapidly expand its fabless ecosystem and AI chip competitiveness based on its foundry capabilities.

4. Money Pours Into Nuclear ETFs, With Returns Differing by Twofold

- Key Summary: Net assets of 10 domestically listed nuclear ETFs surged by about 2 trillion won, from 1.8551 trillion won at the start of the year to 3.6496 trillion won, with more than 1.3 trillion won concentrated in products investing in domestic nuclear companies alone. Year-to-date returns show 'TIGER Korea Nuclear' leading at 141.22%, while 'HANARO Nuclear iSelect' stood at 60.18%, a gap of more than twofold. The proportion of KOSDAQ-listed nuclear small- and mid-cap stocks was the key factor dividing returns, with Woori Technology soaring more than 500% this year. Analysts highlighted that if new nuclear power plant construction projects resume in the United States, companies with past experience supplying equipment to U.S. nuclear plants could benefit.

5. "Two-Thirds of EUV Going to Korea": Samsung, SK Sweep Up AI Semiconductor Equipment

- Key Summary: With ASML set to ship at least 60 low-NA EUV units this year, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix have ordered or are preparing to order approximately 40 units (about two-thirds of annual shipments). The amount committed is estimated at about 20 trillion won based on 500 billion won per unit, with the two companies' combined CAPEX this year expected to exceed 100 trillion won. The industry explains that preemptive equipment acquisition is essential as the number of EUV layers is further increasing for HBM4 production and next-generation DRAM (1d process). ASML has raised its shipment target for next year to 80 units, and given domestic memory companies' order history, a significant portion of next year's volume is also likely to flow into Korea, observers said.

6. 'Rice of Industry' Naphtha Stocks Depleted, With Cascading Impact on Clothing, PET Bottles, and Packaging

- Key Summary: Following Yeocheon NCC, Lotte Chemical (011170.KS), LG Chem (051910.KS), and Hanwha Solutions (009830.KS) successively announced supply disruptions due to naphtha supply shortages caused by the Middle East conflict, while Hanwha TotalEnergies declared force majeure on PX production. Due to PE and PP shortages, packaging material prices rose 20-30% this month, with some raw and auxiliary materials surging up to 50% compared to the previous year. LG Chem's first-quarter operating loss consensus stands at 189 billion won (a 1,659% widening of losses year-on-year), and Lotte Chemical is also expected to post an operating loss of 195.6 billion won, with a high likelihood that losses will continue since 2022. Korea Investors Service warned that additional production halts could simultaneously amplify fixed-cost burdens and liquidity pressures.