In this article, we explore the 10 Best Korean Stocks to Buy.

South Korean equities suffered their worst single-day loss on record on March 4, according to a Reuters report. Reuters noted that the benchmark KOSPI plunged 12.06%, which is the biggest daily decline in the index’s 46-year history. According to Reuters, the selloff resulted from the escalating US-led attack on Iran. Although the conflict rattled the majority of Asian markets, losses in Korean stocks far outweighed its peers. This, said Reuters, is a reflection of the country’s acute energy vulnerability. However, analysts at Maybank Securities characterized the selloff as a positioning unwind rather than a deterioration in corporate fundamentals. For BNY Mellon economists, South Korea’s dependence on Gulf energy supply is a primary concern.

Yet, the Financial Times’, or FT’s, editorial board is of the opinion that the investment case for Korean stocks has never been more compelling. The FT noted in a March 11 opinion piece that an ambitious reform agenda is reshaping Korea’s equity landscape. For instance, President Lee Jae Myung has moved to dismantle the so-called “Korea discount”, which is a persistent undervaluation rooted in the outsized influence of family-controlled chaebols. To be specific, a law passed last July requires company directors to place all shareholders’ interests first, and in February, an amendment was enacted that mandates the cancellation of newly acquired treasury shares within a year. These governance overhauls, the FT said, have helped power a broader market re-rating, which explains in part why the KOSPI surged 44% year to date before the US-Israel adventure in Iran struck.

That rally convinced Goldman Sachs to raise its year-end 2026 KOSPI target to 7,000 from 6,400 on March 13. Goldman also lifted its 2026 earnings growth forecast to 130%, which is the third upward revision this year. The bank’s chief Asia Pacific equity strategist, Timothy Moe described the recent decline as a correction likely to be followed by a recovery to new highs. According to Moe, Korean stocks have a forward price-to-earnings multiples of just 8.8x, and that the semiconductor sector is operating in an “exceptionally favorable” environment. Beyond chips, the strategist also highlighted Korea’s growing footprint in robotics, nuclear power, defense, and shipbuilding as additional catalysts.

Against this backdrop, this article presents some of the best Korean names investors can latch on for diversification.

Our Methodology

To identify the 10 Best Korean Stocks to Buy, we used financial media sources, including Bloomberg, CNN, and the Wall Street Journal, as well as Korea-focused ETFs such as the iShares MSCI South Korea ETF (EWY), and the Finviz stock screener to build an initial pool of Korean companies listed in the United States. From this group, we filtered for stocks with an analyst consensus upside potential of more than 20% as of March 16, 2026. We also considered hedge fund sentiment for each stock, using Q4 2025 holdings data from Insider Monkey’s database. The final list is ranked in ascending order based on upside potential.

Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research shows we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 498.7% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 303 percentage points (see more details here).

Best Korean Stocks to Buy

10. Woori Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:WF)

Stock Upside: 26.68%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 8

Woori Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:WF) is one of the best Korean stocks to buy. On March 4, Woori Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:WF) submitted its audited financial statements for fiscal year 2025 to the SEC via a Form 6-K filing. The company said the statements were prepared under the International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted in South Korea, or K-IFRS, and cover consolidated and separate financials.

According to the filing, external auditors issued an unmodified opinion on both the group’s 2025 and 2024 consolidated financial statements. They took the same stance on the company’s internal controls over financial reporting. In other words, the auditors found the financials to be a fair and accurate representation of the company’s position.

In the financial statements, Woori stated that at the group level, total assets surged to KRW 601.5 trillion from KRW 525.8 trillion in 2024. The company explained that the growth was driven by loan growth, an expanded securities portfolio, and the July 2025 consolidation of two newly acquired insurance subsidiaries. Net income came in at KRW 3.23 trillion, which was broadly flat year over year, the statements show. At the same time, credit loss provisions stood at KRW 3.36 trillion as measured under the expected credit loss model.

The statements also show that at the subsidiary level, Woori Bank, the group’s wholly-owned banking arm, saw its net income fall to KRW 2.58 trillion from KRW 3.05 trillion in 2024. The decline was due to rising credit costs and higher expenses weighing down on the income, the firm explained.

Woori Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:WF) is a financial holding company in South Korea. It provides banking, credit card, securities, and asset management services through its subsidiaries. The company generates revenue from deposits, loans, investment products, and financial advisory services.

9. LG Display Co., Ltd. (NYSE:LPL)

Stock Upside: 27.76%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 11

LG Display Co., Ltd. (NYSE:LPL) is one of the best Korean stocks to buy. On February 26, Universal Display Corporation (NASDAQ:OLED) extended its long-term OLED material supply and license agreements with LG Display Co., Ltd. (NYSE:LPL). The announcement builds on a partnership that has now spanned more than two decades.

For LG, this extension ensures a continued and secure supply of Universal Display Corporation’s, or UDC’s, UniversalPHOLED phosphorescent materials and OLED technologies. These are key ingredients in the production of high-performance OLED panels. UDC will deliver the materials and tech through UDC Ireland Limited, its wholly owned subsidiary.

LG and UDC started working together in this partnership way back in the early 2000s, when CRT screens were still the dominant TV technology. Over the course of the relationship, the two companies helped steer the display industry toward OLED. The partnership enabled LG to become one of the world’s leading OLED panel manufacturers.

To be specific, this latest extension builds on an agreement originally signed in 2007. It was renewed in 2021 for a five-year term, which makes the current agreement the beginning of the third cycle. According to LG’s management, the new cycle positions the company to advance its next-generation OLED product roadmap, which spans TVs, monitors, mobile devices, and automotive displays.

LG Display Co., Ltd. (NYSE:LPL) manufactures and sells thin-film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) panels and organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panels used in televisions, laptops, monitors, smartphones, and automotive displays. The company’s revenue comes from supplying these panels to global electronics brands, including its affiliate LG Electronics.