Comedian Kwak Beom. [Newsis]
Comedian Kwak Beom. [Newsis]

Comedian Kwak Beom has shared the story of how a past investment in Samsung Electronics shares — though ultimately profitable — led him to swear off stocks for good.

The first episode of a video series titled "First Time Investing in Stocks," focused on asset growth for people in their 20s and 30s, was recently uploaded to KB Securities' official YouTube channel.

In the video, Kwak described his investing experience, telling viewers, "You might be surprised when I talk about stocks. Everyone talks about Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix — well, I put 100 million won ($68,000) into Samsung at 60,000 won a share." At the time of filming, Samsung Electronics shares were trading at around 300,000 won each.

The other cast members, noting Samsung's current share price, expected him to reveal a windfall — but Kwak said he had sold at 63,000 won. "I got in at 60,000 won and got out at 63,000 won. And I never touched stocks again," he said.

Asked why he stopped investing, he said he felt uneasy about passive income. "I was anxious about unearned income — I was afraid of making money from something I hadn't worked for," he explained.

Kwak made his debut as a KBS 27th-class comedian in 2012 and is currently active on YouTube channels including "Bbangsong-guk" and "Sibi-cheung."

Samsung Electronics the biggest beneficiary of Google's AI investment push: KB Securities

KB Securities maintained a "buy" rating and a target price of 600,000 won on Samsung Electronics on Thursday, calling it "the biggest beneficiary of Google's AI ecosystem."

Kim Dong-won, head of research, said major US tech companies including Google believe that "underinvesting in AI will be more dangerous than overinvesting," given the race to dominate the AI market and surging demand. "Big tech firms will carry out unstoppable AI investment over the next three years," he said.

He added that Google plans to secure AI infrastructure through next year by guaranteeing rental fees for external data center operators, and that Google's AI investment this year is expected to account for more than a quarter of total AI spending by US big tech companies. Kim went on to say that Samsung Electronics currently holds the No. 1 share in memory chip supply to Google, making it "the biggest beneficiary of Google's AI ecosystem."


choigo@heraldcorp.com