Korean Semiconductor ETFs

Rubicon plans to offer perpetual futures on Korean semiconductor ETFs, providing exposure to Samsung, SK Hynix, and the broader Korean chip ecosystem.

Why Korean Semiconductors?

Korea is a global semiconductor powerhouse:

  • Memory dominance — Samsung and SK Hynix control ~70% of DRAM and ~50% of NAND flash

  • Display technology — Samsung Display leads OLED manufacturing

  • Foundry expansion — Samsung competes with TSMC

  • AI beneficiary — HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) demand explosion

Available ETFs

091160.KS — Samsung KODEX Semiconductor

Property
Value

Full Name

Samsung KODEX Semiconductor ETF

Issuer

Samsung Asset Management

Exchange

Korea Exchange (KRX)

Currency

KRW

Ticker

091160.KS (Yahoo)

Top Holdings:

  • Samsung Electronics

  • SK Hynix

  • Samsung SDI

  • DB HiTek

396500.KS — TIGER Fn Semiconductor Top 10

Property
Value

Full Name

TIGER Fn Semiconductor Top 10 ETF

Issuer

Mirae Asset Global Investments

Exchange

Korea Exchange (KRX)

Currency

KRW

Ticker

396500.KS (Yahoo)

Focus: Concentrated exposure to top 10 Korean semiconductor stocks by market cap.

395270.KS — HANARO K-Semiconductor

Property
Value

Full Name

HANARO K-Semiconductor ETF

Issuer

NH-Amundi Asset Management

Exchange

Korea Exchange (KRX)

Currency

KRW

Ticker

395270.KS (Yahoo)

Focus: Broad Korean semiconductor sector exposure.

091230.KS — TIGER Semiconductor

Property
Value

Full Name

TIGER Semiconductor ETF

Issuer

Mirae Asset Global Investments

Exchange

Korea Exchange (KRX)

Currency

KRW

Ticker

091230.KS (Yahoo)

Focus: Korean semiconductor sector with moderate diversification.

Trading Hours

Korean markets operate in a different time zone:

Session
Hours (KST)
Hours (ET)
Hours (UTC)

Regular

9:00 AM - 3:30 PM

7:00 PM - 1:30 AM*

00:00 - 06:30

Closed

3:30 PM - 9:00 AM

1:30 AM - 7:00 PM

06:30 - 00:00

*Previous day in ET (Korea is ahead).

Key Time Differences

Event
Korea Time
ET
PT

Market Open

9:00 AM

7:00 PM (prev)

4:00 PM (prev)

Market Close

3:30 PM

1:30 AM

10:30 PM (prev)

Holidays

Korean markets follow their own holiday calendar:

  • Lunar New Year (3 days)

  • Independence Movement Day (Mar 1)

  • Buddha's Birthday

  • Children's Day (May 5)

  • Memorial Day (June 6)

  • Liberation Day (Aug 15)

  • Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving, 3 days)

  • National Foundation Day (Oct 3)

  • Hangeul Day (Oct 9)

Contract Specifications (Planned)

Specification
Value

Contract Size

1 ETF share

Quote Currency

USD

Settlement

USDH

Maximum Leverage

3x

Update Frequency

Every 3 seconds

Currency Handling

Korean ETFs trade in KRW. Our oracle:

  1. Fetches ETF price in KRW

  2. Converts to USD using current FX rate

  3. Publishes USD price to Hyperliquid

This means positions are exposed to KRW/USD movements in addition to ETF price.

Price Oracle

Parameter
Value

Primary Source

Yahoo Finance (KS tickers)

FX Source

Real-time KRW/USD

Update Frequency

Every 3 seconds during market hours

Fallback

Stale cache (60s max)

Trading Considerations

Time Zone Arbitrage

Korean markets open when US markets are closed, and vice versa. News affecting both markets creates opportunities.

Currency Risk

KRW/USD fluctuations add a layer of volatility. Consider this in position sizing.

News Flow

  • Samsung/SK Hynix earnings are major events

  • Memory pricing data (from TrendForce, DRAMeXchange)

  • China chip restrictions impact Korean suppliers

Liquidity Differences

Korean ETFs may have lower liquidity than SOXX. Expect wider spreads.

Comparison with SOXX

Aspect
SOXX
Korean ETFs

Focus

US/global semis

Korean semis

Top Holdings

NVDA, AVGO, AMD

Samsung, SK Hynix

Strength

Logic chips, AI

Memory, display

Trading Hours

US hours

Korean hours

Currency

USD

KRW (converted)

Why Both?

Holding positions in both SOXX and Korean ETFs provides:

  1. Geographic diversification — US and Asia exposure

  2. Segment diversification — Logic and memory chips

  3. Time zone coverage — Near 24/7 semiconductor trading

  4. Arbitrage opportunities — Correlated but distinct markets

Status

Korean ETF perpetuals are coming soon. Join our Discord to be notified when they launch.

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