Korean stocks face a 'Bloody July': 1.2 million accounts hit margin call lines, over 300,000 positions liquidated, adult liquidation rate reaches 1 in 30, retail margin evaporates nearly 30 trillion won in half a month

According to data from the Financial Supervisory Service, as of July 13, the accounts of over 1.2 million leveraged retail investors across the entire Korean market have hit margin call lines, of which approximately 320,000 to 360,000 accounts have been fully forcibly liquidated by brokerages. Relative to South Korea's population base, this figure means that for every 30 adults, one person (approximately 3.4%) faces the risk of liquidation. The estimated total loss from broad leverage is about 2.15 trillion won (approximately $1.44 billion).

Since July, the cumulative scale of forced liquidations in Korea for the month has reached 344.2 billion won. On July 9 alone, forced liquidations amounted to 142.2 billion won, a nearly five-fold surge from the previous day's 28.8 billion won. The balance of retail margin deposits has evaporated by nearly 30 trillion won compared to the end of June, falling to 107.1 trillion won — the lowest level since June 2020. (Wall Street CN)