70% of SK Hynix & Samsung investors in the red
According to Korean stock market regulators, approximately 70% of investors in SK Hynix and Samsung leveraged ETFs are currently underwater.
Snapshot · The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway
The Week: How Leverage Broke the AI Trade
Explore episode
Aug 7, 2026
Where this was said
South Korea: $2 Trillion Wiped Out by Retail Leverage
At 7:48 · chapter starts 5:35
If Aschenbrenner's story was the institutional version of the leverage disaster, South Korea is the retail version — and it's bigger, messier, and more human in its consequences. In May, exchanges launched single-stock leveraged ETFs tracking Samsung and SK Hynix at 2x, 3x, and 5x multiples [1] — George Hahn "South Korea's stock market fell 44% from its June highs, erasing $2 trillion in value. The culprit: single-stock leveraged ETFs tracking Sa…" 05:31 . By August, the market had fallen 44% from its June highs, and $2 trillion in value had evaporated. The numbers Scott Galloway and Ed cite are staggering: 92% of investors in these products were retail, not institutional. There were two brokerage accounts for every citizen in South Korea. Goldman Sachs estimated that 3.4% of the entire adult population had received a margin call. The human consequences were immediate: South Korea rolled out a debt counseling hotline as part of its national suicide prevention program, and funeral wreaths appeared on the sidewalk outside the National Assembly with a sign reading 'Abolish the single-stock leveraged ETF.' According to Korean stock market regulators, 70% of investors in Samsung and SK Hynix leveraged products are currently underwater. The regulatory response is to stop new listings of these products — but Ed notes that US leveraged ETFs have already grown from $120 billion to $200 billion in AUM since April, with more than half now being single-stock products. America, he warns, is following the same path, perhaps just a few months behind.
3.4% of South Korean adults got margin calls
Goldman Sachs estimated that 3.4% of South Korea's adult population received a margin call, prompting the government to launch a debt counseling hotline as part of its suicide prevention plan.
92% of leveraged ETF investors were retail
In South Korea's single-stock leveraged ETF products, 92% of investors were retail — meaning the risk was almost entirely borne by households, not institutions.
Funeral Wreaths at South Korea's Parliament
Outside South Korea's National Assembly, protesters have stacked funeral wreaths on the sidewalk demanding an end to single-stock leveraged ETFs. Seventy percent of investors in Samsung and SK Hynix leveraged products are in the red. South Korea has rolled out a debt counseling hotline as part of its national suicide prevention program.
US leveraged ETF AUM up ~70% in months
US leveraged ETFs grew from $120 billion to over $200 billion in AUM between April and August 2026, up nearly 70%, with more than half being single-stock ETFs.
US Leveraged ETFs Are Following the Same Path
US leveraged ETFs grew from $120 billion to over $200 billion in AUM between April and August 2026 — nearly 70% growth in a few months. More than half are single-stock ETFs, the exact product that destroyed South Korea. The US may just be a few months behind.
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