Samsung Unveils Galaxy Z Fold8 Series and Watch Lineup, Fueled by Strong Pre-Order Growth

SK Hynix said it will invest 54 trillion won (about $38.1 billion) in two new DRAM and NAND plants in South Korea. About 35.2 trillion won will go to a Yongin DRAM/HBM fab and 19.1 trillion won to a Cheongju NAND site. The company said chips won’t ship until June 2029 at the earliest, with production timing tied to market demand.

South Korea’s regulators and market participants are scrutinizing single-stock leveraged ETFs tied to Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix Inc. The Kospi fell 4.91% to 7,656.31 on July 7, 2026, and most Samsung and SK Hynix-linked leveraged ETFs dropped below their 20,000-won listing price after the chip stocks fell more than 6%. Authorities are also probing whether foreign high-frequency traders amplified ETF-driven swings.

Korea’s Fair Trade Commission (FTC) has submitted an examiner’s report to sanction 15 primary dealers and banks over alleged bid-rigging and illegal information-sharing in Treasury bond auctions from Jan 2020 to Jun 2023. The FTC says the conduct affected about 76.2 trillion won of auctions and could lead to fines up to about 15.24 trillion won, plus corrective orders and possible criminal referrals. Hearings and a final ruling are expected soon.

Netlist (NLST) and Samsung Electronics agreed on a five-year strategic alliance covering patent cross-licensing, memory supply, and technology collaboration, and they will settle and dismiss pending litigation. Samsung will subscribe for up to 10 million Netlist shares. Netlist cites access to its server DIMM and HBM patent portfolio. Netlist filed details in an SEC 8-K.

South Korea’s market saw a leverage-fueled selloff that triggered a second consecutive circuit breaker. Regulators plan to cap single-stock leveraged ETF exposure at 20% of an investor’s total and require higher cash deposits. ETFs linked to Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix fell below listing prices after the chip stocks dropped more than 6%.

Samsung Electronics said its Galaxy Z8 foldable lineup drew 1.44 million preorders in Korea during the seven-day period ending Tuesday, led by the Galaxy Fold8 at about 70% of units. SK Telecom and KT reported over half chose Fold8, and LG Uplus said Fold8 was 67.4% of its preorders. Samsung’s MX posted a Q2 operating loss of 700 billion won.