New Changes in the Korean Stock Market: Market Trends from the KOSPI 200 and KOSDAQ 150 Regular Revisions

On November 19, 2025, the Korea Exchange announced the results of its major index regular revisions, revealing some intriguing patterns. Beyond the mere inclusion and exclusion of stocks, these results contain important signals about the direction in which the domestic stock market is evolving. Notably, a significant number of the 16 stocks newly included in the KOSDAQ 150 are related to robotics, AI, and biotech.

In the KOSPI 200, seven new stocks have been added: LG CNS, Hanwha Engine, Isu Petasys, Paradise, Sanil Electric, Hyundai AutoEver, and Asea. Conversely, eight stocks have been excluded: HD Hyundai Mipo, HDC, Hanwha Vision, Dentium, Hana Tour, KG Mobility, TCC Steel, and OCI. The exclusion of HD Hyundai Mipo is due to a merger with HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, so effectively, there are seven new inclusions and seven exclusions.

Personally, the most noteworthy change is the composition shift in the KOSDAQ 150. The 16 newly included stocks are Pumtech Korea, BH Hi, LS Marine Solution, Yujin Robotics, Yujin Robot, Gamsung Corporation, Olix, D&D Pharmatech, Inka Financial Services, Robotis, Kona I, Mico, Saltlux, i3system, Woori Technology, and Clobot, many of which are companies in advanced technology sectors. Particularly impressive is the significant inclusion of robotics-related companies like Yujin Robotics, Yujin Robot, Robotis, and Clobot.

The importance of these changes lies in the fact that index inclusion brings not just symbolic significance but also tangible capital inflow effects. The KOSPI 200 accounts for 92.6% of the total market capitalization of the domestic stock market, while the KOSDAQ 150 accounts for 56.5% of the total market capitalization of KOSDAQ. This means that passive funds tracking these indices automatically purchase the included stocks. Notably, funds from institutional investors, including the National Pension Service, flow into these included stocks through such index-tracking strategies.

The Rise of Robotics Companies

Taking a closer look at the robotics-related companies included in the KOSDAQ 150 reveals an interesting picture. Yujin Robotics, based in Seoul, specializes in industrial robots, supplying welding robot systems to automobile manufacturers. The demand has surged recently with the expansion of electric vehicle production lines. Yujin Robot, located in Daejeon, is a service robot specialist with a diverse product portfolio ranging from cleaning robots to medical robots.

Robotis, headquartered in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, specializes in robot components and platforms, having started with educational robot kits and now producing key components such as industrial robot joints and actuators. Their smart actuator product, Dynamixel, is particularly recognized in the global market. Clobot, based in Incheon, specializes in collaborative robots, developing safe robot systems that can work alongside humans.

The simultaneous inclusion of these robotics companies in the KOSDAQ 150 signals that Korea’s robotics industry has grown to a level that attracts investor attention. The global robotics market is expected to grow from approximately $74 billion in 2024 to $174 billion by 2030, with a high annual growth rate of 15.3%. Among these, the collaborative robot (cobot) market is expected to grow rapidly, expanding from $1.7 billion in 2024 to $8 billion by 2030.

It’s noteworthy that Korean robotics companies are competitive within these global trends. Given Korea’s status as a manufacturing powerhouse, there is strong domestic demand for industrial robots, and companies that have accumulated technological expertise are now reaching a stage where they can consider overseas expansion. In reality, alongside major conglomerate affiliates like Hyundai Rotem and Doosan Robotics, small and medium-sized specialized companies are also establishing global competitiveness in their respective fields.

However, competition in the robotics market is fierce. In the industrial robot sector, companies like Japan’s FANUC, Germany’s KUKA, Switzerland’s ABB, and Japan’s Yaskawa maintain strong market dominance. FANUC, for instance, recorded sales of about $7 billion in 2023, capturing approximately 17% of the global industrial robot market. In the collaborative robot sector, Denmark’s Universal Robots leads the market, and recently, companies like China’s Hans Robot and Korea’s Doosan Robotics are rapidly growing.

The Divergence of Traditional Industries and New Technology Companies

The stocks excluded from the KOSPI 200 reveal another market trend. Companies like HDC, Hanwha Vision, Dentium, Hana Tour, KG Mobility, TCC Steel, and OCI have been excluded, many of which belong to traditional industrial sectors or industries struggling after COVID-19. The exclusion of travel companies like Hana Tour and steel companies like TCC Steel seems to reflect structural changes in those industries.

On the other hand, the newly included stocks are mostly related to advanced technology or future growth engines, such as LG CNS (Seoul, IT services), Hanwha Engine (Changwon, aerospace), Isu Petasys (Seongnam, semiconductor materials), and Hyundai AutoEver (Seoul, automotive IT). This can be interpreted as a signal that the Korean economy is transitioning from traditional manufacturing to high-value-added technology industries.

For example, LG CNS reported sales of 1.3847 trillion won in the third quarter of 2024, an 8.2% increase year-on-year. The growth is driven by digital transformation-related businesses such as AI, cloud, and big data, directly reflecting the increasing demand for digital transformation among domestic companies. Hanwha Engine shows strength in the aircraft engine maintenance business (MRO), with performance improving alongside the recovery of the aviation industry post-COVID-19.

Isu Petasys produces specialty gases for semiconductor manufacturing and is a major supplier to domestic semiconductor giants like Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. With the recent increase in demand for AI semiconductors, demand for high-purity specialty gases has surged, resulting in a 23% year-on-year increase in sales in the first half of 2024. Hyundai AutoEver, an IT affiliate of the Hyundai Motor Group, is responsible for developing future mobility technologies such as autonomous driving and connected cars.

Examining the stocks excluded from the KOSDAQ 150 also reveals interesting patterns. Companies like Maeil Dairies, i-SENS, HLB Therapeutics, and Bioneer have been excluded, some of which are biotech companies whose performance has declined after the end of the COVID-19 boom. i-SENS, known for its blood glucose meters, saw a significant drop in sales after the COVID-19 diagnostic kit boom ended, with sales falling from 284.7 billion won in 2022 to 145.6 billion won in 2023, nearly halving.

Conversely, the newly included biotech companies have more sustainable business models. D&D Pharmatech, a CDMO (Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization) specialist, is showing stable growth in line with the trend of increasing outsourcing by global pharmaceutical companies. Sales in the first half of 2024 increased by 34% year-on-year, with overseas sales accounting for over 60%, proving its global competitiveness.

Changes in the KRX 300 index are also noteworthy. Twenty-one stocks, including SK Discovery, Korea Carbon, Dongwon Industries, Hyosung, Seoul Guarantee Insurance, Kyobo Securities, and Hyundai GF Holdings, have been included, while 22 stocks have been excluded, showing a similar pattern. Traditional manufacturers are being replaced by companies related to finance, materials, and energy transition.

Particularly notable is the inclusion of SK Discovery. As the materials division holding company of the SK Group, it is responsible for future growth engine businesses such as battery materials and information electronic materials. With the growth of businesses like copper foil for electric vehicle batteries and specialty gases for semiconductors, sales in the first half of 2024 increased by 12% year-on-year. Korea Carbon is also finding new growth momentum by entering the anode materials business for lithium-ion batteries, in addition to materials for steel manufacturing like graphite electrodes.

The biggest trend observable from this index revision is that the center of gravity in the Korean stock market is shifting from traditional heavy industries, chemicals, and steel to advanced technologies such as IT, biotech, robotics, and new materials. This aligns with global megatrends like digital transformation, carbon neutrality, and the AI revolution. However, such changes are not always positive. The volatility of tech stocks is high, and many companies have yet to prove their profitability, requiring cautious approaches from investors.

It will be interesting to see how the Korean stock market evolves in the future. The key will be how companies in new technology fields like AI, robotics, and biotech can demonstrate competitiveness in the global arena and whether they can become new growth engines for the Korean economy. This index revision may be an important signal marking the beginning of such changes.

This article was written after reading the ‘This Stock?’ KOSPI 200, KOSDAQ 150, KRX 300 Inclusions and Exclusions – Newswell article, adding personal opinions and analysis.

Disclaimer: This blog is not a news outlet, and the content reflects the author’s personal views. The responsibility for investment decisions lies with the investor, and no liability is accepted for investment losses based on the content of this article.