On August 24, memory chip stocks listed in Hong Kong experienced a broad decline, with the Southern Double Leveraged Samsung Electronics product plummeting 16%. Meanwhile, GigaDevice and VIA Technologies fell over 5%, Montage Technology dropped more than 4%, and the Southern East Sky SK Hynix Daily Leveraged (2x) product slid over 3%.

The sell-off mirrors weakness in the South Korean market, where the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) briefly tumbled nearly 3%. Within this context, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. shares sank close to 8%, while SK Hynix at one point lost over 3%.

On the corporate front, Samsung announced last Friday that its total shareholder return for this year would range between 90 trillion and 110 trillion Korean won, including a 30 trillion won cash dividend slated for the third quarter. However, JPMorgan analyst Jay Kwon stated bluntly in a report that the plan "failed to deliver a positive surprise," adding that "it remains unclear why Samsung management chose dividends over buybacks, as many investors prefer the latter, viewing it as a more effective means of returning capital."

In contrast, KB Securities had previously projected that Samsung could allocate up to 200 trillion Korean won toward shareholder returns, highlighting a significant gap between market expectations and the company's actual proposal.