Bloomberg: South Korea's equity market challenge is a loss of investor trust

Huo Xing Cai Jing reported that on Aug. 4, Bloomberg columnist Shuli Ren wrote that the central challenge for South Korea's stock market is not weakening corporate fundamentals, but rising strain from market structure, regulatory policy and investor confidence. The report said South Korean equities became one of the world's most sought-after—and most volatile—markets earlier this year. The KOSPI slid nearly 40% in just 27 trading sessions. Even as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix continue to benefit from AI-related chip demand, and the KOSPI's 12-month forward P/E has fallen to about 5.5x, investors may still opt to stay on the sidelines. Ren attributed a major part of the market's extreme swings to regulators' earlier approval of single-stock leveraged ETF products. Because leveraged ETFs rebalance mechanically with price moves—adding exposure in rallies and cutting it in selloffs—they can intensify momentum in both directions. Citing Goldman Sachs data, the column noted that at the KOSPI's June peak, a 5% move in SK Hynix could prompt leveraged ETF rebalancing flows equivalent to as much as 40% of the stock's daily trading volume. The selloff has also hit Korean retail investors hard. Data cited in the report showed the most popular SK Hynix leveraged ETF fell as much as 84% from its June high, triggering forced liquidations across roughly 360,000 accounts; 62% of those accounts were held by individuals under 35. Ren argued that while the South Korean government previously promoted capital-market reforms to draw more retail participation, it did not rein in leverage risks during the AI trading frenzy, undermining younger investors' confidence in the domestic market. In her view, South Korea's issue is not a shortage of AI growth opportunities but widening doubts about market rules, regulatory credibility and trading stability. If elevated volatility persists, global capital could continue to steer clear of Korean equities even as the AI sector remains robust.