Korean stock market forced liquidation volume reaches 344.2 billion KRW in July, credit leverage risks continue to escalate

According to data from the Korea Financial Investment Association, driven by a significant downturn in the stock market, on-exchange credit leverage has entered a phase of concentrated deleveraging. The cumulative forced liquidation amount for July has already reached 344.2 billion KRW, with a single-day liquidation volume of 142.2 billion KRW on July 9 alone. Due to a two-trading-day delay in the reporting of liquidation data, the clearing pressure triggered by the sharp drop in the KOSPI on the 13th has not yet been fully reflected in the statistics, leading market forecasts to anticipate a further increase in subsequent liquidation volumes.

On July 13, the Korean stock market experienced severe volatility, with the KOSPI closing down 8.95% and triggering both the Sidecar selling suspension mechanism and a Level 1 circuit breaker during the session. The semiconductor sector led the decline, with SK Hynix falling 15.37%, marking its largest single-day drop in history, while Samsung Electronics closed down 10.7%. Currently, the margin balances and credit financing balances of Korean retail investors continue to shrink, with the market entrenched in a negative deleveraging cycle of "falling stock prices → forced liquidation → further decline in stock prices." (WSJ)