South Korea leveraged trading collapse hits millions of young investors

leveraged trading KOSPI collapse South Korean investors margin calls finance minister apology

Between 300,000 and 700,000 young South Koreans lost large sums after trading leveraged exchange‑traded funds tied to semiconductor giants SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics. Leveraged ETFs on SK Hynix shed about $17 billion and those on Samsung lost over $5 billion, contributing to a total market‑capitalisation loss of more than $2 trillion – roughly the size of South Korea’s GDP. The KOSPI index, which hit a record 9,386 points in June 2026, fell about 40 % within a month, erasing roughly $2 trillion in value.

More than 1.2 million accounts received margin calls and over 500,000 investors were forced to liquidate positions, with retail investors collectively losing about 56.3 trillion won (≈ $38.7 billion). In response, Finance Minister Koo Yun‑cheol publicly apologized for allowing leveraged products to be introduced without adequate analysis and regulators moved to limit the use of leveraged ETFs.

The crisis has been described as a “leveraged trading” blow‑out that exposed many young, highly‑digitised investors to severe debt after modest market moves amplified losses through high leverage.

Entities

Gabriel Montalto · KOSPI · KOSPI · Koo Yun‑cheol · Ministry of Economy and Finance of South Korea · SK Hynix · SK Hynix Co., Ltd. · Samsung Electronics · Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. · South Korea · South Korean government

Claims

What the coverage asserts, and how many sources carry each claim.

[● 4 SOURCES] Between 300 000 and 700 000 young South Koreans suffered significant losses from leveraged trading. www.negocios.com · sofokleous10.gr · actualidad.rt.com · news.bitcoin.com
[● 3 SOURCES] South Korea’s market‑capitalisation loss exceeded $2 trillion, comparable to the country’s GDP. actualidad.rt.com · sofokleous10.gr · news.bitcoin.com
[● 3 SOURCES] KOSPI reached a record high of 9,386 points in June 2026. actualidad.rt.com · sofokleous10.gr · news.bitcoin.com
[● 3 SOURCES] Leveraged ETFs on SK Hynix lost about $17 billion and those on Samsung Electronics lost over $5 billion. actualidad.rt.com · sofokleous10.gr · news.bitcoin.com
[● 3 SOURCES] Retail investors lost about 56.3 trillion won (≈$38.7 billion). actualidad.rt.com · sofokleous10.gr · news.bitcoin.com
[● 3 SOURCES] More than 1.2 million accounts received margin calls and over 500 000 investors were forced to liquidate positions. sofokleous10.gr · actualidad.rt.com · news.bitcoin.com
[● 3 SOURCES] KOSPI fell about 40% within a month after the June peak. actualidad.rt.com · sofokleous10.gr · news.bitcoin.com
[● 2 SOURCES] Finance Minister Koo Yun‑cheol apologized for introducing leveraged products without proper analysis. actualidad.rt.com · sofokleous10.gr