Korean Stock Market Leverage Frenzy: ETF Scale Soars to $45 Billion, Leverage Exposure Hits All-Time High

Odaily News The Kobeissi Letter published an analysis pointing out that the leverage trading frenzy in the Korean stock market continues to spiral out of control. The assets under management (AUM) of leveraged ETFs have surged to approximately $45 billion, setting a new all-time high and accumulating over 800% growth since the beginning of 2026.

At the same time, the ratio of leverage exposure to free-float market capitalization has risen to around 2.9%, more than tripling since January, indicating that tradable shares in the market are being highly amplified by leverage.

On an individual stock basis, the 2x leveraged ETF for SK Hynix listed in Hong Kong once grew to about $15 billion, becoming the largest single-stock leveraged product globally.

In contrast, 2x leveraged ETFs tracking popular targets such as Micron, NVIDIA, SanDisk, and Tesla have historically never exceeded $10 billion in scale.

The analysis indicates that leverage levels in the Korean market are already in an extreme state, with the rapid accumulation of risk exposure raising concerns about potential amplified volatility.