South Korea tech shares volatile as robotics stocks jump on Nvidia bet

SK Telecom Co

02/06/2026 03:02

Robotics shares surge after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang highlights Korea's role in sector
Other AI-linked stocks like Naver, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, LG Innotek fall on profit-taking
Investors await Huang's Seoul visit and meetings with major Korean firms
By Heekyong Yang

    SEOUL, June 2 (Reuters) - South Korean tech stocks swung sharply on Tuesday as investors rotated between companies seen as beneficiaries of Nvidia's NVDA.O push into robotics and physical AI and those facing profit-taking after recent rallies tied to the U.S. chip giant. 
Robotics-related shares rallied after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said during a boisterous dinner on Monday night in Taipei on the sidelines of the Computex trade show that robotics was "very important" for South Korea.
During Nvidia's "Korean Partner Night" event held at a traditional Taiwanese restaurant, Huang also said "Korea is a critical part of our ecosystem."
Shares of Doosan Robotics 454910.KS, Robostar 090360.KQ and Robotis 108490.KQ rose as much as 22.8%, 29.95%, and 15.3%, respectively,  with all three touching record highs in morning trade, as investors bet they stood to benefit from Nvidia's growing focus on humanoid robots and physical AI.
Nvidia said on Monday it planned to collaborate with humanoid robot makers in the U.S., Europe and South Korea, in addition to its partnership with China's Unitree. 
Meanwhile, SK Telecom 017670.KS shares hit a record high after Huang highlighted the telecom carrier as one of Nvidia's partners in manufacturing and physical AI during his keynote speech at GTC Taipei on Monday.
Other AI-linked stocks retreated after strong recent gains. Naver Corp 035420.KS, which had surged more than 35% over the previous five trading sessions amid expectations surrounding Huang's visit to South Korea this week, fell as much as 10.1% as investors took profits.
Shares of AI component suppliers also came under pressure, with Samsung Electro-Mechanics 009150.KS and LG Innotek 011070.KS declining as much as 17.3% and 23.7%, respectively. 
"In Naver's case, the stock has skyrocketed over the past few days ... while expectations surrounding Huang's visit remain supportive, the share price had risen so sharply in a short period that some profit-taking was likely inevitable," said Lee Jun-ho, an analyst at Hana Securities.
"Even some of the power equipment and component stocks that had been leading the rally, despite having little direct exposure to Nvidia-related themes, are pulling back, suggesting the weakness is broad-based across the sector."
Investors are closely watching Huang's expected visit to Seoul this week, where he is scheduled to meet executives from major South Korean firms. 

 (Reporting by Heekyong Yang
Editing by Ed Davies)
 ((Heekyong.Yang@thomsonreuters.com;))