South Korea's Rookie Investors Lose Savings as AI Stock Rally Turns to Rout

South Korea's KOSPI index, which hit an all-time high of 9,385.59 points in June this year, had reversed most of its gains by late July, falling below 5,595 points, and dropped nearly 6 percent on Wednesday, August 19, 2026, a day after a 1.55 percent decline on Tuesday. According to Al Jazeera, the KOSPI is up about 50 percent since the start of this year but remains 30 percent below its record high; margin loans used to buy stocks have fallen from a June peak of 38.6 trillion won ($27.6 billion) to 28.9 trillion won ($20.7 billion) by the end of July.

The report said many first time investors entered the market at the encouragement of President Lee Jae-myung and have since lost part of their gains; regulators had approved leveraged exchange traded funds tracking Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which together account for more than half the KOSPI's weight. Lee's approval rating has fallen for five consecutive weeks to 43 percent in an August 10 to 14 Realmeter survey, the lowest of his presidency.