Koreans Cash Out Savings, Insurance to Buy AI Chip Stocks

South Korean households are withdrawing money from bank accounts and surrendering life insurance policies to buy shares of SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics as demand for AI chips lifts both stocks near record highs. Savings bank deposits fell below ₩100 trillion ($66.24 billion) for the first time in four years, and commercial bank time deposits declined by about ₩12 trillion ($7.94 billion) since February as cash moved into equities.

Policy surrenders at the top three life insurers rose 16% in the first quarter of 2026, with savings-type policies up 23% as investors converted insurance holdings into stock purchases. Domestic securities firms and insurers disclosed the withdrawal figures amid the market rally.

Older investors are a major source of leveraged buying. Customers aged 50 and above account for roughly 62% of margin loans at South Korea’s largest brokerages. Margin debt held by investors in their 60s increased from ₩3.9 trillion ($2.58 billion) to ₩8 trillion ($5.29 billion) in a year, according to broker disclosures.

SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics have been the primary beneficiaries. Since November, SK Hynix has gained about 265% and Samsung about 162%, pushing the two companies to represent roughly 42% of the KOSPI by market value. Weekly relative strength index readings above 80 for each stock indicate overbought technical levels.

The government added a ₩33 trillion ($21.86 billion) support package for the semiconductor sector as retail participation increased. The KOSPI dropped roughly 19% in March before recovering; older, leveraged investors averaged about 20% losses during that slide.

Trading in Korean won accounts for about 30% of global spot cryptocurrency volume on local exchanges. Analysts and market participants point to high retail flows, growing margin use and insurer surrenders as factors concentrating household exposure in a small number of mega-cap chip firms.

Analyst and YouTuber Crypto Rover described household actions this way: “The marginal buyer is now liquidating insurance policies, withdrawing savings, borrowing on margin, and leveraging existing assets just to stay in the rally.”

Analysts and brokers are monitoring deposit trends, insurer surrender rates, margin debt levels and upcoming corporate results for Samsung and SK Hynix to track how market positions evolve.