Korean Retail Investors Lose ₩53T as KOSPI Triggers Historic Circuit Breaker

KOSPI and KOSDAQ hit historic circuit breakers with drops exceeding 12% and 8%. Retail investors shifted from buying to panic selling, wiping out ₩53T in market cap for Samsung and SK Hynix.

Woofun AI reports that South Korean equity markets experienced consecutive sharp declines, triggering historic circuit breakers on July 29. The KOSPI fell over 12% and the KOSDAQ dropped more than 8%. Retail investors initially purchased ₩43 trillion on July 28 amid foreign selling pressure but reversed course on July 29, net selling ₩14.2 trillion in panic. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix saw combined market capitalization evaporate by approximately ₩530 trillion. Citi estimates leveraged ETF losses at $38.7 billion, while margin balances decreased by over ₩30 trillion from peak levels. Net buying of U.S. stocks by Korean investors surged 5.7 times in July, signaling capital flight to overseas markets.