Two high-profile investors have publicly rejected the "Sell Korea" trade and urged buyers to position for a South Korean semiconductor recovery, according to a Chosunbiz report.

The report names Wood and Choi as the two voices against the call. Both argued that the market has priced South Korean chipmakers too pessimistically. Their position lands at a moment when foreign investors have pulled money out of Seoul-listed equities and the country's two memory leaders, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, have traded under a cloud of weak pricing sentiment.

"Sell Korea" describes a crowded short-or-exit stance on Korean assets. It gained traction as concerns mounted over the memory cycle, export exposure, and competition in advanced chips. The two investors named in the report take the opposite view. They see the semiconductor sector, the backbone of the Korean export economy, as oversold rather than structurally impaired.

Why does their call matter now?

Memory chips drive a large share of South Korea's exports. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix together dominate global DRAM and NAND supply. When sentiment on memory pricing turns, Korean equities and the won tend to move with it.

The investors' argument rests on cyclical timing rather than a structural bull case. Semiconductor markets move through supply gluts, inventory corrections, and shortages. Buyers who enter at the point of maximum pessimism, the reasoning goes, capture the rebound when pricing recovers and capex discipline returns.

The report does not specify price targets, position sizes, or dates for the expected recovery. It records the direction of the call and the identity of the callers. Both framed the current environment as an opportunity to buy rather than a reason to exit.

What is the counterargument?

The "Sell Korea" camp cites familiar risks. Memory pricing remains volatile. Chinese competitors are expanding capacity in legacy memory. Geopolitical tension around semiconductors adds uncertainty for export-dependent suppliers. A rebound requires those pressures to ease.

The bullish investors accept the risks but dispute the conclusion. Their view treats current weakness as the normal bottom of a cycle, not a permanent loss of competitiveness for Korean chipmakers.

Who holds which side of the trade?

The divide is between investors who see a cyclical bottom and those who see structural decline. Wood and Choi place themselves firmly in the first camp. They reject the herd framing of "Sell Korea" and argue that the phrase itself signals sentiment has gone too far in one direction.

That contrarian logic has a long history in semiconductors. The sector has repeatedly rewarded buyers who acted against consensus at cycle lows. It has also punished early buyers when downturns ran longer than expected.

What happens next?

The outcome will turn on memory pricing, inventory levels at major customers, and the pace of demand recovery in the segments where Korean suppliers are strongest. If pricing stabilizes, the two investors' call will look prescient. If the downturn extends, the "Sell Korea" trade retains the upper hand. Chosunbiz reports both remain committed to the rebound thesis.