Shenchao TechFlow News, June 30 - The Japanese and South Korean stock markets officially closed for the first half of the year. South Korea's KOSPI index closed up about 1% today, while Japan's stock market closed up about 0.9%. Driven mainly by demand for AI memory chips, the South Korean stock market rose about 100% in the first half of the year, repeatedly hitting new highs, once reaching an all-time high of 9385. The two tech giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix rose about 180% and 310% respectively this year. Driven by multiple factors such as corporate reform, AI, and the boom in the semiconductor industry chain, the Nikkei 225 index has risen about 40% this year, the TOPIX index has risen about 17%, with tech stocks being the main driving force. Chip test equipment manufacturer Advantest has risen about 65% this year, and chip manufacturing equipment maker Tokyo Electron has risen over 120%. (Jin Shi)