In just four weeks, 300 million won in assets vanished to zero, South Korea's frenzied stock market trading exposes margin loan risks

Odaily reported that according to foreign media, 24-year-old South Korean college student Lee Seung-ho turned 20 million won into 300 million won (approximately $202,500), a 15-fold return using five times leverage, but the gains evaporated within just four weeks. The pressure was so intense that he admitted, "I can hardly breathe." For many young South Koreans, the allure of leverage stems from a harsher reality beyond the trading screen.

Data shows that an average South Korean worker would need 14 years of their full salary to buy a house in Seoul, and young graduates find it difficult to accumulate wealth through traditional means. Consequently, highly leveraged stock applications have become their only tool for economic equality. Last Thursday, the South Korean government announced a ban on newly launched leveraged exchange-traded funds linked to individual stocks. For retail investors holding these products, the risk is asymmetric: in such a volatile market environment, leverage causes losses to accumulate much faster during downturns than gains during uptrends. Lee Seung-ho stated that he understands these risks but remains convinced that leverage is the best way forward. (Jinshi Data)