Korean university student once grew 5x leveraged stock trading gains by 15 times, but all profits evaporated after market correction

Odaily Odaily News: Lee Seung-ho, a 24-year-old South Korean university student, used a 5x leverage through a trading app to increase 20 million won, saved during his military service, to nearly 300 million won—approximately 15 times the initial principal. However, after the South Korean stock market experienced sharp fluctuations in May of this year, his brokerage firm triggered a series of margin calls, causing all related gains to evaporate within four weeks, and the account balance ultimately fell below the initial investment.

Lee stated that high-leverage trading accelerated wealth growth, but continuously betting with a full position may ultimately lead to losses. According to data from the Korea Financial Investment Association, the balance of margin loans in the South Korean stock market rose to a record 38.63 trillion won on June 24, and still stood at 34.37 trillion won as of July 15.

During the same period, the KOSPI index more than doubled at one point over six months, but subsequently experienced multiple declines of over 10% within several weeks. South Korean regulators have announced a suspension on listing new leveraged ETFs linked to individual stocks and stated they will strengthen risk management when market volatility intensifies. (Reuters)