South Korean retail investors lose 6.3 trillion won in single-stock ETPs

Retail investors in South Korea recorded total losses of 6.313 trillion won from investing in single-stock Exchange Traded Products (ETPs), specifically leverage products tracking Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, between late May and mid-August.

Data submitted to the National Assembly by the Financial Supervisory Service reveals that of the total losses, 2.324 trillion won were realized through sales, while 3.988 trillion won remain as unrealized valuation losses. The losses were spread across 546,000 trading accounts.

Demographically, investors in their 40s and 50s accounted for the largest portion of the losses, totaling 3.918 trillion won, or approximately 62.1% of the total. While the 40s age group saw the highest absolute loss at 2.053 trillion won, investors aged 70 and older experienced the highest average loss per account, at approximately 29.94 million won.

Financial authorities recently implemented protective measures, including increasing the mandatory basic deposit for retail investors from 10 million won to 30 million won and mandating mock trading for leverage products. However, because the reported loss period ended on August 14, the full impact of these regulatory changes has yet to be reflected in the data.