Chart of the Week: 'Gangnam Style' father-son link spurs DI Corp surge

A father-son connection to the Gangnam Style music video has triggered an almost 500 per cent rally in shares of DI Corporation since mid-July in Seoul.

Gangnam Style, which contains satirical lyrics about the habits of wealthy South Koreans and features choreography mimicking horse riding, vaulted 34-year-old musician Park Jae-sang into fame under the pseudonym Psy. The musician's father, Park Won-ho, is chairman of DI, which makes semiconductor-testing equipment for clients including Samsung Electronics.

The chart of the week tracks shares of DI, the number of news stories compiled by Bloomberg that contain the term "Gangnam Style" and views on Google's YouTube, with the latter exceeding 500 million since it was posted on July 15.

"In the case of DI, illogical bets that the company would somehow benefit are pushing up the shares," Kevin Jin, an analyst at Hyundai Securities says. "The Gangnam Style boom has created some thematic stocks."

Speculation that DI would do business with Psy, given the family ties, triggered the share-price rally, the company say.

No discussions have been made on a potential business with the chairman's son, the company says.