Luxury postcard from South Korea Luxury’s boom era: Can the momentum last?

Research evidence excerpt

Luxury postcard from South Korea Luxury’s boom era: Can the momentum last?

21 July 2026

Luxury postcard from EquitiesGlobal Luxury Goods

South Korea

Luxury’s boom era: Can the momentum last? Korea

◆ South Korea (c7% of our luxury coverage sales), a visibly Anne-Laure Bismuth*

booming market for luxury, driven by both locals and tourists Head of Consumer Luxury & Sporting Goods HSBC Bank plc

annelaure.bismuth@hsbcib.com

◆ A market benefiting from wealth creation and the AI +44 20 7991 6587

investment cycle; powered by memory chips exports Karen Choi*

Head of Consumer & Retail Research, Asia Pacific

The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation

◆ Hard luxury outpacing soft; overall, luxury sector set to enjoy a Limited, Seoul Securities Branch

karen.choi@kr.hsbc.com

nice ride of growth, but could normalise by end of the year +82 2 3706 8781

Akshay Gupta*, CFA

What are the drivers of luxury demand in South Korea? Global Luxury & Consumer Analyst

The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited

South Korea is one of the largest global exporters of AI hardware components, given its akshay.gupta@hsbc.com.hk

leadership position in semiconductors and the electronics supply chain; therefore, +852 2974 2980

benefiting from the AI investment cycle. South Korea monthly exports exceeded Vignesh Gopalakrishnan*

Associate

USD100bn for the first time in June, supported by a sharp rebound in semiconductors. Bangalore

This momentum has been evident throughout the first half of the year, underpinning

stronger profitability across tech companies. Improved earnings have translated into * Employed by a non-US affiliate of HSBC Securities (USA) Inc, and is

higher variable compensation for employees, which has helped lift domestic consumption.