When dramatic surges and plunges become routine, South Korea's stock market is gradually "memeifying"

Odaily reported that the volatility of South Korea's benchmark stock index has reached extreme levels, leading investors and analysts to compare the market's sharp intraday swings to a "meme stock" frenzy. Although this comparison might sound exaggerated at first, given that the Kospi index is backed by strong earnings from global leading chip manufacturers, it is not without merit.

With retail investor interest heating up, the Kospi index has already seen 20 trading days this year with a closing move of at least 5%, compared to just two instances in all of 2025. Samsung Electronics has recorded 8 trading days this year with gains or losses of 10% or more—up from zero last year—while SK Hynix has seen 11 such days, compared to two in 2025. This is reminiscent of the frenzy surrounding stocks like GameStop and Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) during the retail trading mania. A major driver behind the surge in volatility is the aggressive buying of leveraged ETFs on individual stocks by retail investors.

Furthermore, the growing dominance of these two heavyweight stocks has also amplified volatility. According to Goldman Sachs, a 5% swing in the South Korean stock market could trigger approximately $4.7 billion in ETF rebalancing flows, as options dealers need to adjust their risk exposure. This amount is equivalent to about one-eighth of the average daily trading volume of the South Korean stock market. (Jin Shi)