Korean Regulator Eyes Samsung and SK Hynix's Leveraged ETFs Retail Investor FOMO, Considers Taking Separate Actions

BlockBeats News, June 23, South Korea's Financial Supervisory Service Governor Lee Chan-jin announced that they are considering implementing specific stability measures for individual stock leveraged ETFs. During a press conference held on June 22, 2026, Governor Lee stated that the negative effects of individual stock leveraged ETFs have intensified. In addition to enhancing trade surveillance, the regulatory authorities are also contemplating other measures to stabilize the market, aiming to hedge against the potential systemic risk caused by the sharp fluctuations of individual stock leveraged ETFs tracking SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics.

Governor Lee expressed, "I am deeply concerned that ordinary investors find it challenging to obtain substantial returns, as most of the profit dividends end up in the hands of the operating institutions." On May 27, 2026, leveraged ETFs based on Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix were listed on the South Korean local stock exchange, attracting a frenzy of market capital inflow. According to the South Korea Financial Supervisory Service's statistics, the total market value of such individual stock leveraged ETFs has surged from 45 trillion KRW on the listing day to 96 trillion KRW on June 12. The average daily turnover rate of these individual stock leveraged ETFs is as high as 122.5%, significantly exceeding the turnover rate of other leveraged and inverse ETFs at 30.2% (Caixin).

Possibly influenced by this news, the South Korean KOSPI index plummeted by 8.18% as of the time of writing, triggering two circuit breakers today.