The market cap of the main stock market has surged 76.2% over the past year. Shown are the closing share prices on Jan. 6 of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix displayed at the dealing room of Woori Bank in Seoul's Jung-gu District. (Yonhap News)

By Kim Seonah

The market cap of the country's main stock market has seen a massive surge over the past year.

Higher investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure has led to the combined market caps of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix to jump KRW 800 trillion, driving explosive growth in the market overall.

The Korea CXO Research Institute, which specializes in corporate analysis, on Jan. 14 said the main stock market KOSPI's market cap jumped 76.2% or KRW 1,718 trillion in just one year, rising from KRW 2,254 trillion in early January last year to KRW 3,972 trillion early this month.

Over the same period, the number of stocks with a market cap exceeding KRW 1 trillion won jumped from 230 to 318, with a combined 325 breaking the mark including preferred stocks.

Samsung Electronics saw the largest leap in market cap with KRW 440 trillion, going from KRW 318 trillion early last year to KRW 760 trillion this month, while SK Hynix saw its figure jump KRW 360 trillion from KRW 124 trillion to KRW 492 trillion.

In addition, SK Square (investment portfolio management), Doosan Enerbility (energy solutions), Hanwha Aerospace, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, Hanwha Ocean (shipbuilding and marine solutions) and Samsung C&T (construction and engineering) each saw market cap jumps of over KRW 20 trillion in the past year.

The stock boom also reshuffled the rankings of corporate leaders in market cap. ABL Bio's entry into the top 100 saw the biotech company leaping 127 notches from 186th early last year to 59th this month, while Isu Petasys (printed circuit boards), APR (beauty technology), Kolon TissueGene (clinical-stage advanced cell therapies) and Hyosung Heavy Industries joined the top 100.

sofiakim218@korea.kr