KOSPI PBR only 1.3x… Still lower than Taiwan and India

Analyses saying that the domestic stock market has significant room to rise further after surpassing the 4,000 level are coming one after another. The core logic is that it is still undervalued compared with major global stock markets. Many experts analyzed on the 27th that the KOSPI index "has broken out of the box range that continued since the 2010s and entered a phase of structural revaluation."

Jeong Sang-jin, Head of Equity Management at Korea Investment Trust Management, said, "With the government's market support policies, the strength of global markets, and the semiconductor supercycle converging, the domestic market has entered a major bull market for the first time in 18 years since 2007," adding, "Compared with the price-to-book ratios (PBR) of major global markets in 2007, domestic stocks are still cheap."

Kim Young-il, Head of Research Center at Daishin Securities, also said, "The major uptrend will continue until the first half of 2026."

According to the Korea Exchange that day, the KOSPI index's PBR is about 1.33 times. It has risen to the level of the high point (1.31 times) during the 2021 COVID-19 bull market. The KOSPI index's PBR remains lower than the developed-country average (3.7), as well as major emerging markets such as Taiwan (3.6), India (3.5), and China (1.6). During the 2004–2007 bull market when the KOSPI index tripled, the PBR rose to as high as 1.98 times.

Maeng Jin-gyu Reporter maeng@hankyung.com