'Tail wagging the dog': FSS chief warns on leveraged ETF boom

Financial Supervisory Service Gov. Lee Chan-jin signaled possible regulatory measures on single-stock leveraged exchange-traded funds Monday, saying the products have delivered limited benefits while exposing retail investors to growing risks. "The effect has been minimal, but the side effects have become too significant," Lee said during a media briefing at the FSS headquarters in Seoul. Single-stock leveraged ETFs tied to Samsung Electronics and SK hynix were introduced last month to encourage

2026-06-22 15:01:47:00

Margin debt hits record as retail investors pile into Samsung Electronics, SK hynix

Debt-funded stock investing by South Korean retail investors is showing signs of overheating as the Kospi climbed to a record 9,000 mark, pushing outstanding margin loans to a record 38 trillion won ($24.8 billion) and prompting some brokerages to tighten margin lending rules. According to the Korea Financial Investment Association, outstanding margin loans in the domestic stock market stood at 38 trillion won as of Thursday, up 200 billion won from a day earlier. The balance has increased by mo

2026-06-19 18:19:57:00

JoongAng Ilbo enters first default status after missing repayment

South Korean newspaper publisher JoongAng Ilbo was classified as being in first default after failing to meet an early repayment demand on 22 billion won ($14.4 million) worth of commercial paper, according to a regulatory filing Friday. According to the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system on Friday, JoongAng Ilbo said in a filing that it failed to make payment on Thursday due to insufficient deposits in its account. "A creditor presented the note for payment on June 18,

2026-06-19 16:39:37:00

ETF trading tops 30% of market turnover on strong retail demand

Exchange-traded funds now account for 30 percent of trading value on the Korean stock market, driven by surging demand from retail investors, according to a report by the Korea Investment Securities on Friday. Retail investors were net buyers of 64.3 trillion won ($41.9 billion) worth of listed shares and 55.3 trillion won worth of ETFs so far this year. By contrast, foreign investors were net sellers of about 111 trillion won worth of listed shares and ETFs combined. The scale of retail investo

2026-06-19 15:19:30:00

CSOP launches Hong Kong's first Kospi 200 ETF

CSOP Asset Management, Hong Kong's largest issuer of exchange-traded funds, on Thursday launched the city's first ETF tracking Korea's benchmark Kospi 200 Index, betting on growing global demand for Korean equities. The CSOP Kospi 200 ETF began trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, becoming the only ETF listed in Hong Kong and the Asia-Pacific region outside Korea that tracks the Kospi 200. Investor demand appeared strong from the outset. According to CSOP, trading volume exceeded 30 billion

2026-06-18 15:05:50:00

Korean investors snap up W1.2tr of SpaceX shares on debut

South Korean retail investors snapped up more than 1 trillion won ($661 million) worth of SpaceX shares on the company's stock market debut, underscoring the intense local appetite for the Elon Musk-led space firm. It is rare for a single US-listed stock to attract more than 1 trillion won in net buying from Korean retail investors in a single session, making SpaceX one of the biggest overseas stock purchases by Korean retail investors in recent years. According to financial industry sources Wed

2026-06-17 14:54:16:00

SpaceX allocation fallout draws FSS probe

South Korea's Financial Supervisory Service is examining Mirae Asset Securities and several asset managers, including Korea Investment Management, over SpaceX-related investment products after they failed to secure IPO allocations despite marketing them as vehicles for gaining exposure to the highly anticipated listing. According to industry sources Tuesday, the FSS initially launched an on-site inspection of Mirae Asset Securities before escalating it into a formal examination. The probe also c

2026-06-16 18:10:51:00

After IPO setback, Korean ETF managers rush into SpaceX

South Korean asset managers are rushing to increase exposure to SpaceX through exchange-traded funds, as investor demand for the newly listed aerospace company remains strong. Leading the pack is Ace US Space Tech Active ETF, managed by Korea Investment Management, with SpaceX accounting for 26.41 percent of its portfolio as of Tuesday. The fund had initially sought to secure initial public offering allocations through Mirae Asset Securities but pivoted quickly to open-market purchases after the

2026-06-16 14:55:34:00

SpaceX miss exposes Korea's weak hand in global IPO race

Mirae Asset Securities' failure to secure any SpaceX initial public offering shares for its clients has reignited concerns that Korean brokerages remain at a disadvantage in the global IPO market, just as a new wave of blockbuster artificial intelligence listings, led by OpenAI and Anthropic, loom on the horizon. Industry officials said Monday the episode highlighted the limited influence Korean firms wield in the final allocation process of highly sought-after global offerings, potentially leav

2026-06-15 15:05:08:00

'Demand exceeded expectations': IBKR on Korea's new omnibus accounts

Foreign investors have traded more than 6 trillion won ($3.9 billion) through Korea's new omnibus account system, highlighting strong global demand for easier access to the local stock market. Among the early adopters is Interactive Brokers, the global electronic brokerage firm that launched Korea's first omnibus account service for foreign investors with Samsung Securities in May. "There has been strong demand from Interactive Brokers clients globally for access to the Korean market for some ti

2026-06-14 10:22:02:00