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The most common way to buy Korea from a US account is EWY. What the fund holds is published every day by iShares. As of August 14, 2026, the top three lines read like this.
| Rank | Company | Weight | Shares held |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Samsung Electronics | 22.82% | 33,348,677 |
| 2 | SK Hynix | 20.03% | 4,926,010 |
| 3 | SK Square | 3.44% | 1,205,297 |
As last week’s piece established, the top two come to 42.85%. Read the third line, though, and that number starts moving again.
SK Square is not an operating company. It is a holding company. And its largest asset by far is its stake in SK Hynix.
What this means if you hold EWY. The third line of the holdings file (3.44%) is not a new company — it is a second helping of the second line (20.03%). Which means the sentence “Samsung plus Hynix is 42.85%” is describing your actual semiconductor exposure on the low side. Section 3 puts a floor and a ceiling on how far.
1. What SK Square is
Start with the American version. Buy the S&P 500 and you own Apple directly — then you own a slice of it again through Berkshire Hathaway. SK Square is Korea’s version of that second slice. It does not make chips. It owns a fifth of the company that does.
It was spun out of SK Telecom in 2021 as an investment holding company, designed as a box for semiconductor and ICT assets. The largest thing in the box is its stake in SK Hynix.
How large? Most coverage rounds it to “about 20%.” The primary source is more precise, and it is in English: the shareholder table inside SK Hynix’s own financial statements as filed with the SEC.
| SK Hynix shareholder | Shares Mar 31, 2026 |
Shares Dec 31, 2025 |
% Mar 31, 2026 |
% Dec 31, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SK Square Co., Ltd. | 146,100,000 | 146,100,000 | 20.50% | 20.07% |
| Other investors | 562,197,021 | 555,591,520 | 78.88% | 76.32% |
| Treasury shares | 4,405,344 | 26,310,845 | 0.62% | 3.61% |
| Total | 712,702,365 | 728,002,365 | 100.00% | 100.00% |
Two things worth noticing. First, SK Square’s share count did not move — 146,100,000 on both dates. The percentage rose because SK Hynix cancelled 15,300,000 treasury shares, taking the total from 728,002,365 down to 712,702,365. The same holding became a bigger slice of a smaller pie.
Second, that table is dated March 31, 2026. It is the most recent primary figure we could source in English. SK Square’s own half-year report, filed in Seoul on August 14, would be newer — the disclosure viewer returned an empty response, so nothing from it appears here.
Keep the two twenties apart while you read on. 20.03% is SK Hynix’s weight inside the fund. 20.50% is SK Square’s ownership of SK Hynix. Different measurements, similar numbers, no relation.
2. Last week the two moved together — one of them more
There is no new close today, so the basis dates are stated plainly. Everything below is the August 14 (Friday) regular-session close on the Korea Exchange. August 15 was Liberation Day, and Monday, August 17 was the substitute holiday — there has been no trading since.
| Stock | Aug 7 | Aug 14 | Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| SK Hynix | ₩1,422,000 | ₩1,645,000 | +15.68% |
| SK Square | ₩939,000 | ₩1,154,000 | +22.90% |
SK Square outran it by 7.21 percentage points. The company holding the stake moved more than the thing it holds a stake in. Day by day, the pattern is sharper still.
On the two days SK Hynix moved hard, SK Square added 2.8 and 3.2 percentage points on top. On the two days it barely moved, the pair went in opposite directions. One week is not a beta — but the shape is the one a holding company produces: same direction, larger amplitude.
Under the Gat. A holdings file is a list, not a map. The list shows you three names. A map would show you that two of them lead to the same place. View, not advice.
3. So what does “42.85%” leave out
Here is the arithmetic, with a floor and a ceiling rather than a guess.
The floor is 42.85%. That is EWY’s disclosed Samsung-plus-Hynix weight, and it is what you get if you pretend SK Square holds no SK Hynix at all. It holds a fifth of it, so the true number is above this.
The ceiling is 46.29%. If SK Square were nothing but its SK Hynix stake, its entire 3.44% would count as SK Hynix, and effective Samsung-plus-Hynix exposure would be 42.85 + 3.44 = 46.29%.
That figure should look familiar. 46.29% is the disclosed top-three weight — 22.82 + 20.03 + 3.44. It is the same three lines added a different way, and that is exactly why it is the ceiling. The number bounding this article was printed in the holdings file the whole time.
So: your effective Samsung-plus-Hynix exposure is between 42.85% and 46.29%. On SK Hynix alone, between 20.03% and 23.47%. SK Square does hold other ICT assets, so the true value is not at the ceiling — but Seoul analysts put SK Hynix at the large majority of its net asset value, which puts it much nearer the top of the range than the bottom. That last part is a sell-side estimate, not company guidance, and it is the only soft input here.
What is not in this article is the discount to net asset value. Sizing that needs SK Square’s own shares outstanding and its full asset composition, and neither was available today — they are in the half-year report that would not open.
One marker points the same way the missing number does. SK Square’s August 14 close of ₩1,154,000 sits roughly 47% below its 52-week high, while the asset inside it closed the week up 15.68%. ⚠️ The source does not state whether that 52-week range is measured intraday or on closing prices, so read it as a rough position and nothing finer.
Under the Gat. There is a version of this article with a precise discount-to-NAV in it. It would be a better read and a worse article — the inputs were not there. A range you can verify beats a decimal you cannot. View, not advice.
Whatever the exact figure, the sign is not in doubt. As long as the No. 3 holding owns a fifth of the No. 2 holding, the disclosed weight understates real exposure. It cannot run the other way.
4. Reading Korea through this — why the same company shows up twice
The Berkshire comparison gets you most of the way, though it is not a perfect parallel: Berkshire has a great deal going on besides Apple, while SK Square is far more concentrated.
What has no American equivalent is why Korean indices are so full of these pairs. From 1999 onward, Korea deliberately encouraged conglomerates to unwind circular cross-shareholdings by converting to holding-company structures. The result is that “holding company plus core subsidiary,” both listed and both in the index, is a common arrangement. SK Square and SK Hynix are a product of that design.
For a US investor there is one implication. A Korean index is less diversified than its name count suggests. There are many names; the assets behind them overlap.
And this particular snapshot has a shelf life. The MSCI August review takes effect on the August 31 close, and the index EWY tracks changes composition that day. What you are reading is a two-week photograph.
Under the Gat. You read the list. You did not read the structure. There is no new company down on the third line — there is the second line, one more time. This is not bad news. It just means the word “diversified” is doing less work than you thought. View, not advice.
5. Access — can you buy it from a US account
SK Square is not listed in the United States. There is no ADR either. The only practical way a US account gets exposure to SK Square is through a Korea ETF — 3.44% of EWY.
- SK Hynix is a different case — its ADSs are listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker SKHY, while the common shares trade in Seoul under code 000660. The standing page for its dates, ratios and status is the SK Hynix investor hub.
- Why Samsung and Hynix are not one trade is taken apart in the opening piece of this series.
6. What to watch next
- Tuesday, August 18, 15:30 KST — with Monday closed, this is the week’s first Korean close.
- August 27 — Bank of Korea rate decision.
- August 31 — the MSCI August review takes effect on that day’s close. The list EWY holds changes.
- SK Square’s half-year report — when it opens, the range in section 3 narrows to a figure.
The conclusion
EWY’s third-largest holding is SK Square, at 3.44%, and SK Square is a holding company whose principal asset is 146,100,000 shares of SK Hynix — 20.50% of the company as of March 31, 2026. Last week SK Square returned +22.90% against SK Hynix’s +15.68%, ahead by 7.21 percentage points, and on the two days SK Hynix moved hard it added 2.8 and 3.2 points on top.
Which means the disclosed top-two weight of 42.85% understates your semiconductor exposure. The real figure sits between 42.85% and 46.29% — and the ceiling is a number that was already printed in the holdings file, on the line most people stop reading before.
The third line was not a new company. It was the second line.
Not financial advice — a view from Seoul, not a recommendation to buy or sell. All prices are the KRX regular-session close (15:30 Seoul) unless otherwise labeled, and index weights change: the MSCI August review takes effect on the August 31 close.
Sources
- iShares MSCI South Korea ETF — official holdings file, as of August 14, 2026 (primary) — weights and share counts
- SEC — SK hynix Inc., Form 424B4, shareholder table in the financial statements (primary) — SK Square 146,100,000 shares, 20.50% as of March 31, 2026; treasury-share cancellation of 15,300,000 shares; Nasdaq Global Select Market listing of the ADSs under “SKHY”
- Korea Exchange (KRX) — all closing prices, regular session 15:30 Seoul
- Financial Supervisory Service DART — SK Square half-year report (2026.06) filing receipt confirmed August 14, 2026; the document text could not be opened and is not used here
- SK Square’s share of net asset value attributable to SK Hynix — Korean sell-side estimate, not company guidance
Frequently Asked Questions
What is SK Square?
An investment holding company spun off from SK Telecom in 2021. It holds semiconductor and ICT assets, and its largest single asset is its stake in SK Hynix — 146,100,000 shares, or 20.50% of SK Hynix as of March 31, 2026, per the shareholder table in SK Hynix’s financial statements as filed with the SEC.
Is SK Square in EWY?
Yes. As of August 14, 2026 it was EWY’s third-largest holding at a 3.44% weight, 1,205,297 shares, per the official iShares holdings file.
If I hold EWY, how much SK Hynix do I really own?
Direct exposure is 20.03%. Because SK Square’s main asset is SK Hynix, some of its 3.44% is a second helping of the same company, so effective exposure sits between 20.03% and 23.47% — the upper figure being the case where SK Square is nothing but its SK Hynix stake. Samsung plus Hynix on the same basis sits between the disclosed 42.85% and 46.29%.
Can I buy SK Square from a US brokerage account?
Not directly. There is no US listing and no ADR. The only practical route to SK Square exposure from a US account is through a Korea ETF such as EWY, where it sits at 3.44%.
How much of SK Hynix does SK Square own?
146,100,000 shares, which was 20.50% of SK Hynix as of March 31, 2026, up from 20.07% at the end of 2025 — the share count did not change; SK Hynix cancelled treasury shares, so the same holding became a larger percentage. The figure comes from the shareholder table in SK Hynix’s financial statements as filed with the SEC.
How did the two stocks perform last week?
From the August 7 close to the August 14 close, SK Square rose 22.90% and SK Hynix rose 15.68% — a gap of 7.21 percentage points. All figures are the KRX regular-session close at 15:30 Seoul.
Was the Korean market open on Monday, August 17, 2026?
No. Liberation Day fell on Saturday, August 15, so Monday was a substitute holiday and the exchange was closed. The next close is Tuesday, August 18 at 15:30 Seoul time.
Written by Mr.Gat — TheGatBull
Korean market coverage from a Seoul-metro-based operator who reads the filings in the original language. Every price on this site is the KRX regular-session close (15:30 Seoul); every figure states whether it came from a primary filing, the press, or our own calculation. Drafts are AI-assisted, then verified against the original Korean documents and edited by a human before publishing.
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This article is for informational purposes only and is not financial advice. TheGatBull may earn a commission from some links at no cost to you — see our disclosure and full disclaimer.