South Korea Retail Margin Debt Falls $3.5 Billion to $22.6 Billion as 30% KOSPI Slide Forces Chip ETFs to Shed $10 Billion
South Korea's retail margin debt fell to won 33.4 trillion ($22.6 billion), the lowest level in three months, shedding $3.5 billion from its June peak. The rapid deleveraging triggered more than 1.2 million margin calls among retail investors and forced brokers to fully liquidate between 320,000 and 360,000 accounts.
The margin unwind coincided with a 30% slide in the KOSPI index, prompting regulators to halt new leveraged exchange-traded fund listings and raise minimum account deposit requirements. Assets in funds tracking memory chipmakers also retreated, falling $10 billion from a $28 billion peak and dragging the U.S.-listed 3x leveraged long Korea ETF down 71% over seven weeks.
From the sources (25 posts)
@cryptorover🚨 SOUTH KOREA'S STOCK MARKET IS SITTING ON A $25 BILLION TIME BOMB. Retail investors in South Korea have borrowed a record 38 trillion won ($25.2B) to buy stocks. That's far above the previous peak of 24 trillion won during the 2021 marke
@globalmktobserv‼️SOUTH KOREAN RETAIL INVESTORS' MARGIN DEBT IS HITTING RECORD LEVELS: Loans on margin account balances are up to a record ~38 trillion won, or ~$25.2 billion, doubling since the start of 2025. TAP IMAGE TO SEE FULL INSIGHT👇
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@firstsquawkSeoul's KOSPI Index Drops 4% Amid Market Selloff.
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@macroedgeresKorea Exchange activated the sell-side sidecar after the KOSPI fell 5% #MacroEdge
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@globalmktobserv🔴SOUTH KOREA MARKET IS TRADING AS IF THERE IS A FINANCIAL CRISIS: The 30-day KOSPI index volatility spiked to 82 points, an all-time high. TAP IMAGE TO SEE FULL INSIGHT👇
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