HONG KONG: South Korean stocks soared a record 17.9 per cent on Friday (Jul 31) as Asian tech firms performed a blistering recovery from an extended sell-off, with beaten-down chip giant SK Hynix rocketing almost a third as the AI boom roared back. Seoul's KOSPI had been at the forefront of the sell-off after hitting a record high a month ago, with chipmakers SK Hynix and Samsung the poster children of the rout, losing around half their value in the panic. The KOSPI's eye-watering rally was helped by news that South Korea's government planned to pump almost US$14 billion into its sovereign wealth fund for AI investments and data centres. Ryu Hyung-keun, of Daishin Securities, told AFP investors had become "increasingly sceptical about how much further memory chip prices could rise". But Chey's purchase of company shares had been interpreted by investors as "a positive signal", he said.