当大涨大跌成为家常便饭，韩国股市逐步“迷因化”

Odaily Odaily Planet Daily News 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 the "meme stock" frenzy. While this comparison might sound exaggerated at first, given that the Kospi index is supported by robust earnings from the world's leading chipmakers, it is not entirely unfounded.

Retail investor interest is heating up, with the Kospi index already recording 20 trading days this year where it closed with a gain or loss of at least 5%, compared to just two instances in all of 2025. Samsung Electronics has had 8 trading days this year with a gain or loss of 10% or more, versus zero last year; SK Hynix has seen 11 such days this year, compared to two in 2025. This is reminiscent of the past frenzy surrounding stocks like GameStop and Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY), when they were heavily chased by retail investors. A major driver of this volatility surge is the aggressive buying of leveraged ETFs focused on individual stocks by retail traders.

Furthermore, the growing dominance of these two heavyweight stocks has also exacerbated the volatility. According to Goldman Sachs, a 5% fluctuation 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 scale is roughly equivalent to one-eighth of the average daily trading volume in the Korean stock market. (Jin Shi)