Investor sentiment was further lifted by an ongoing summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing, while overnight gains on Wall Street, led by technology stocks, also boosted momentum.
As of 9:25 a.m., the KOSPI was trading at 8,032.67, up 0.64 percent, while the junior KOSDAQ slipped 0.40 percent to 1,186.30. It took just a week to climb from the 7,000 level to the 8,000 mark, one of the fastest rallies on record.
Samsung Electronics and SK hynix have been at the center of South Korea's AI-driven market rally, increasingly dominating the country's equity market amid explosive global demand for AI chips and memory semiconductors.
Both stocks hit fresh intraday record highs in the previous session and remained near those levels in early Friday trading. Samsung Electronics edged down 0.17 percent to 295,500 won, while SK hynix rose 0.96 percent to 1,989,000 won.
Among other major stocks, Hyundai Motor Company jumped 5.48 percent to 751,000 won, while Hyundai Mobis gained 4.31 percent to 678,000 won. Kia Corporation also rose 1.63 percent to 181,000 won.
In the battery sector, LG Energy Solution climbed 3.51 percent to 457,500 won, while Samsung Electro-Mechanics surged 8.30 percent to 1,109,000 won.
Industrial and shipbuilding shares traded mixed, with HD Hyundai Heavy Industries edging up 0.15 percent to 672,000 won, while Doosan Enerbility slipped 0.60 percent to 116,400 won.
Defense shares weakened, with Hanwha Aerospace falling 3.45 percent to 1,261,000 won.
The South Korean won remained broadly weak, trading at 1,497.50 per dollar compared with the previous close of 1,491.0 won.
The momentum in Seoul followed another strong session on Wall Street overnight, where investors continued pouring into AI and semiconductor-related shares. Nvidia rose 4.39 percent after expectations grew that the company could expand sales of its H200 AI chips in China following its CEO Jensen Huang's participation in the Beijing delegation.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.75 percent to 50,063.46, reclaiming the 50,000 level for the first time since February. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite gained 0.77 percent and 0.88 percent, respectively, both setting new record highs.
Overall investor sentiment improved after Trump and Xi signaled that both sides would seek to stabilize relations despite continuing disagreements over Taiwan and Iran.
During a state banquet, Xi said China's "great rejuvenation" and Trump's "Make America Great Again" vision could "go hand in hand," while Trump described the meetings as "very positive and productive."
Markets interpreted the summit more as a sign that tensions between the world's two largest economies were unlikely to escalate immediately.
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