More than 300,000 accounts in South Korea have been forced to liquidate their positions in full by securities firms. From "earning five years' salary in vain" to "losing all their savings in five years"
【Liquidation! More than 300,000 accounts in South Korea have been forced to liquidate in full by brokerages. From "earning five years' salary in vain" to "losing all their savings in five years", some people can't even make up the rent] From July 1 to July 13, South Korea's storage giants fell sharply. SK Hynix retraced nearly 40% from its high point, and Samsung Electronics retraced nearly 30% from its high point. A wave of forced liquidation swept the Korean stock market.
From July 1 to July 13, South Korea's storage giants fell sharply. SK Hynix retraced nearly 40% from its high point, and Samsung Electronics retraced nearly 30% from its high point. A wave of forced liquidations swept the Korean stock market. According to Brokerage China citing official Korean statistics on July 19, as of July 13, the cumulative forced liquidation scale in July reached 344.2 billion won (approximately RMB 1.57 billion). On July 9 alone, the scale reached 144.2 billion won. More than 1.2 million leveraged retail accounts in the market have hit the margin call line. About 320,000 to 360,000 accounts have been forced to liquidate in full by brokers, and some accounts even owe brokers funds. According to the Financial Associated Press, South Korea's population aged 15 to 64 is about 35.7 million. Based on this estimate, about 1 in 30 working-age people will receive a margin call. According to reports, margin balances in retail brokerage accounts have dropped by about 30 trillion won to the lowest level since February 20 this year. At the same time, the proportion of accounts receiving margin calls rose to about 5% on Friday, and is expected to rise further as the sell-off in the semiconductor sector intensifies. In June 2026, a Korean girl said: "This is the best summer of my adult life. I found a job, earned five years' salary in the stock market for free, have a passport to fly around the world, and can go swimming in the island with discounted air tickets and a week's salary." But on July 7, the joke suddenly changed. A Korean boy said: "This is the worst summer in my adult life. I was jealous of my colleagues' money, so I threw all my savings into the stock market. I increased the leverage by five times. When the circuit breaker hit, my position was liquidated. I lost five years of savings, the Korean won devalued by 20%, and I can't even pay for next week's rent." Capital flow data on Thursday showed foreign and local institutional investors were already pulling away. The South Korean stock market was closed on Friday due to a legal holiday. According to a recent report by Xinhua News Agency, the South Korean government regards semiconductor companies as the core of South Korea's future competitiveness. From government decision-making, corporate investment to capital markets, South Korea has gradually formed a development path in which the whole country is betting on semiconductors and emerging technology industries. Recently, the South Korean government announced national “three major super projects” with a total investment of 1,461 trillion won (approximately 1,496 won for 1 U.S. dollar), focusing on the construction of semiconductors, physical artificial intelligence (AI), and AI data centers. Samsung Electronics and SK Group also announced long-term investment plans totaling approximately 4,755 trillion won, further strengthening South Korea’s strategy of building a global AI industry center. This national strategy quickly triggered a "resonance" in the capital market and began to change the way South Korean people allocate their wealth. During a recent interview in Seoul, reporters found that whether it was in securities companies, office buildings, restaurants, or university campuses, the most talked about topic was stocks. "Have you opened an account?" has almost become a new greeting among young people in South Korea. During lunch break, many Korean office workers stare at their mobile phones to update the KOSPI trend while eating. Data from the Korean Financial Supervisory Service and other institutions show that in the first five months of this year, the number of Korean pension savings insurance cancellations increased by 62.7% year-on-year, and the scale of fund redemptions surged by 146.1% year-on-year. A large amount of funds originally used for retirement and long-term investment flowed to the stock market. South Korea's five largest commercial banks have consumed more than 85% of the annual household loan quota in the first half of the year. One of the important reasons for the growth of credit loans is residents "borrowing money to speculate in stocks." A month ago, some Korean investors were still cheering for "the most dreamy summer of their lives." Just a few weeks later, some investors said that they had invested all their savings and had liquidated their positions after the recent sharp decline. Analysts pointed out that when "if you miss it, you will fall behind" becomes the common mentality in Korean society, the rise and fall of the market will be driven more by emotions, expectations and leveraged funds. South Korean public opinion has begun to reflect on whether this capital carnival with the participation of all people amid the boom in technology investment is turning investment into a survival game that "cannot lose". The stock market continues to fluctuate violently, prompting South Korean regulatory authorities to take substantive action. The Korean government has recently held consecutive meetings to discuss investment leverage risks and countermeasures. The market expects that regulators will study measures such as increasing margin requirements, adjusting leverage multiples, and limiting excessive product fluctuations to reduce the amplifying effect of leveraged transactions on market fluctuations.
However, many Korean industry insiders believe that these measures are more like delaying the release of risks rather than eliminating the risks themselves. Lee Can-jin, president of the Korea Financial Supervisory Service, said that related issues “are not something that can be solved at once, but are areas that require continuous correction and improvement.” South Korea's Chosun Ilbo commented that this reflects that regulatory authorities are still difficult to come up with solutions that can fundamentally stabilize the market. On the one hand, a large number of individual investors have invested huge sums of money to purchase related leveraged products. If they are directly suspended or delisted, it may trigger a market impact and cause greater losses to investors. On the other hand, single-stock exchange-traded open-end index funds (ETFs) were launched after multiple government departments promoted and revised relevant regulations. If they are completely rejected now, it will definitely affect the credibility of government supervision. For South Korea, AI and semiconductors are still strategic industries with high international competitiveness in the future. But when policy support, industrial capital, and residents’ wealth allocation all “bet” on a single track at the same time, market expectations will continue to amplify, bringing extreme market risks. Analysts pointed out that the real problem that needs to be solved in the future is how the government can strengthen investor education and guidance to return investment to industrial value and economic fundamentals.
However, many Korean industry insiders believe that these measures are more like delaying the release of risks rather than eliminating the risks themselves. Lee Can-jin, president of the Korea Financial Supervisory Service, said that related issues “are not something that can be solved at once, but are areas that require continuous correction and improvement.” South Korea's Chosun Ilbo commented that this reflects that regulatory authorities are still difficult to come up with solutions that can fundamentally stabilize the market. On the one hand, a large number of individual investors have invested huge sums of money to purchase related leveraged products. If they are directly suspended or delisted, it may trigger a market impact and cause greater losses to investors. On the other hand, single-stock exchange-traded open-end index funds (ETFs) were launched after multiple government departments promoted and revised relevant regulations. If they are completely rejected now, it will definitely affect the credibility of government supervision. For South Korea, AI and semiconductors are still strategic industries with high international competitiveness in the future. But when policy support, industrial capital, and residents’ wealth allocation all “bet” on a single track at the same time, market expectations will continue to amplify, bringing extreme market risks. Analysts pointed out that the real problem that needs to be solved in the future is how the government can strengthen investor education and guidance to return investment to industrial value and economic fundamentals.