South Korea's Stock Rout Exposes Double Threat to AI Boom

South Korea's stock market plunged Thursday, with the Kospi index falling 8% and major chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix dropping 11% and 12%, triggering a trading halt, as investors question AI spending profitability and high interest rates. The selloff followed Wall Street losses after hotter-than-expected US inflation data revived rate concerns. Analysts say doubts about AI companies' profits and their reliance on external financing are pushing investors to value semiconductor stocks as cyclical commodities rather than growth plays. Samsung's forecast of a ninefold profit increase failed to reassure markets, with shares losing nearly a fifth of their value since. Foreign investors sold over 12 trillion won in October, while Chinese competitor CXMT's planned server-memory product raises supply fears. The Kospi has fallen about 35% since June.