BlockBeats report: On May 24, South Korea will launch its first individual stock leveraged ETFs, which track semiconductor manufacturers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, aiming to deliver daily returns of up to twice the positive or negative movement of the underlying stocks. Analysts expect these ETFs to generate strong demand from over 14 million retail investors in South Korea. However, given that intraday fluctuations of 5% in the KOSPI index have become increasingly common, this enthusiasm could further amplify market volatility. The CEO of Fibonacci Asset Management in Singapore stated, “These ETFs will exacerbate existing concentration risks, posing a structural challenge for long-term investors, as elevated index volatility will continue to make the Korean market difficult to navigate.”
Yoon Jaehong, an analyst at Daewoo Future Assets, expects net inflows of up to 5.3 trillion Korean won into 14 leveraged ETFs tracking Samsung Electronics or SK Hynix, which are scheduled to list by the end of May. He noted that, in the first two months of this year, the number of investors who completed the mandatory online training required before investing in leveraged products reached 300,000, surpassing the total for all of 2025. (Jin10)