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Tech-heavy Kosdaq surges past 1,000 mark as investors remain bullish

Published: 26 Jan. 2026, 18:04 Updated: 26 Jan. 2026, 19:24

Hana Bank staff celebrate the Kosdaq surpassing the 1,000 mark for the first time in four years on Jan. 26. [KIM KYOUNG-ROK]

The Kosdaq surged 7 percent in a single day to break the 1,000-point threshold on Monday, reaching its highest level since the dot-com bubble in 2000.

The index closed at 1,064.41 on Monday, up 70.48 points, or 7.09 percent, from the previous trading day. It was the first time the Kosdaq surpassed the 1,060 level since September 2000, during the dot-com boom, and the first time in four years it had closed above 1,000 since January 2022.

The dot-com boom during the late 1990s and early 2000s saw optimism about the transformative potential of the internet fuel a surge of capital into startups with little to no profit, leading to skyrocketing valuations.

In Korea, the Kosdaq — launched in 1996 as a platform for high-growth, tech-oriented companies — became a focal point of that speculative frenzy. The index soared to a record high in March 2000 before collapsing as the bubble burst, resulting in significant losses for retail investors and a long period of stagnation for the market.

During Monday's session, investor sentiment was bullish from market open, pushing the index past 1,000 points early in the session. At 9:59 a.m., a buy-side “sidecar” was triggered on the Kosdaq market, temporarily suspending basket buy orders for five minutes to curb excessive volatility.

At the time the measure was activated, Kosdaq 150 futures had jumped 6.29 percent to 1,774.6, while the Kosdaq 150 spot index rose 6.56 percent to 1,765.95. This was the first time in nine months that a sidecar had been triggered on the Kosdaq, with the last occurrence in April 2025.

Trading volume on the Kosdaq reached 25.2 trillion won ($17.5 billion), surpassing the 22.5 trillion won recorded on the main bourse. Institutions and foreign investors led the rally with net purchases of 2.6 trillion won and 443.5 billion won, respectively. Retail investors sold 2.9 trillion won worth of shares to lock in profits.

A digital board inside the Woori Bank main branch in central Seoul shows the Kosdaq reaching 1,064.41 on Jan. 26, 2026. [NEWS1]

Biotech, secondary battery and robotics shares saw steep gains. Alteogen rose 4.77 percent, EcoPro BM jumped 19.91 percent, EcoPro climbed 22.95 percent, ABL Bio added 21.72 percent and Rainbow Robotics soared 25.97 percent.

Modeled after the U.S. Nasdaq, the Kosdaq is a high-risk, high-return market focused on small and growth-stage companies, where both expectations and volatility are amplified. "Zombie companies" — firms that are unable to generate enough profit to cover their debt obligations but continue to operate — and underperformers had dampened market confidence for years, for which the government has begun reforming delisting criteria and boosting the supply of risk capital through initiatives like the National Growth Fund.

“After the current administration’s stated goal of surpassing the 5,000 mark for the Kospi began to materialize, the president’s push to revitalize the Kosdaq sent a strong signal to the market," said Kim Dae-jun, a senior researcher at Korea Investment & Securities. "Capital rotation from the Kospi to the Kosdaq is likely to continue for the time being.”

On Jan. 22, the Democratic Party’s (DP) Kospi 5000 Special Committee reportedly discussed qualitative improvements to the Kosdaq with President Lee Jae Myung over lunch. Some members proposed targeting 3,000 on the Kosdaq as the next major milestone. The committee is also reportedly considering renaming itself the “Capital Market Revitalization Task Force.”

“As companies that have grown on the Kosdaq move to the Kospi, it has weakened the Kosdaq’s upward momentum," said DP lawmaker and committee chairperson Oh Gi-hyoung. "We plan to accelerate institutional reforms so the Kosdaq can nurture more unicorn companies through productive finance and capital market activation.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY PARK YU-MI [[email protected]]