Unrealized losses on South Korea's single-stock leveraged ETFs have widened by more than 8.8 trillion won over nine days.

South Korea’s domestic stock market has experienced sharp fluctuations over the past nine trading days, with stock-based leveraged ETFs—where retail investors hold a large share—suffering cumulative valuation losses exceeding 8.8 trillion won. According to data released on the 15th by FnGuide Quantwise and Mirae Asset Securities, four single-stock leveraged ETFs issued by Mirae Asset Global Investments and Samsung Asset Management, tracking Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, recorded a combined valuation loss of 8.8337 trillion won between July 1 and 13. During the same period, the assets under management (AUM) of these ETFs shrank by 37.7%, falling from 14.3518 trillion won to 8.9389 trillion won. All 14 listed single-stock leveraged ETFs in South Korea that track Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix saw their total AUM drop by 41.4% over the same period, from 15.9349 trillion won at the end of June to 9.3386 trillion won on the 13th of this month. Specifically, AUM of Samsung Electronics leveraged ETFs decreased by 35.3%, while that of SK Hynix leveraged ETFs fell by 44.9%. Data from the Korea Capital Market Institute shows that as of June 19, individual investors had made net purchases of single-stock leveraged ETFs totaling 8.2 trillion won, accounting for around 60% of the AUM of these ETFs, meaning a large portion of the recent losses may be borne by retail investors.