"I Lost All 2.2 Billion Won I Saved Over 40 Years. I Want to File a Damages Claim"... Leverage Bankruptcy 'Staged' Controversy [What Do You Think?]

[Financial News] A story about an investor who said he lost his entire fortune, worth 2.2 billion won, after investing in a leveraged exchange-traded fund (ETF) linked to a single SK hynix stock is drawing attention.

On the 30th, a post titled "I lost all 2.2 billion won I saved over 40 years and am completely bankrupt as of today" was uploaded to the secondhand trading community Karrot.
The author, Mr. A, wrote, "I bought it as soon as the Hynix leveraged product was launched, and by today I have lost everything and been wiped out." He added, "I even sold my house to invest in stocks, but I have no idea where things went wrong."
In the account verification screen he posted, the KODEX SK Hynix Single Stock Leverage ETF showed a loss of 2,204,369,990 won, or -78.7%.
His total purchase amount was close to 2.8 billion won, while the sale proceeds fell short of 600 million won. The loss was calculated at 2,204,296,950 won.
Mr. A pleaded, "I resent the people who encouraged stock investing and fueled the gambling-like market," adding, "If possible, I want to file a damages claim, but is there any way to do that?"
The product he bought is a leveraged ETF that tracks twice the daily return of SK hynix shares. It was listed on May 27. This month, cumulative trading value for the product topped 80 trillion won, and it ranked first among domestic ETFs in trading value, showing that a large amount of retail investor money flowed in.

As the story spread, online users began arguing over whether the post was genuine. In a climate where fake posts keep appearing, many said the account verification screen alone was not enough to trust it.
Those who suspected fabrication said things like, "Screenshots with just numbers can be made instantly with artificial intelligence (AI) now," "If it were real, he would not have the mental energy to capture the screen and write such a careful post," "Would someone who could grow 2.2 billion won really lose it all through impulse trading?" and "If the loss were that big, it would have been hard to sell, so the fact that he sold it suggests it was staged."
On the other hand, some argued it could be a real loss, saying, "If he uploaded a photo taken with a camera instead of a screenshot, it could be genuine," "I have seen someone lose 4 billion won at once, so I think it could happen," and "In today’s market, it is more likely not fabricated."

Separate from the question of whether the post was fabricated, many also criticized Mr. A for blaming the government for his losses. Online users responded, "The government did not threaten anyone to use leverage," "You bought it with your own fingers, so why blame others? If you had made money, would you have shared it with the government?" and "You even completed leverage education before investing, so who are you blaming?"
Still, some said the authorities were not blameless. They argued, "If you are going to criticize the people who bought leverage, why not hold accountable the sellers and the regulators who approved it?" "Most securities firms opposed it, but it was pushed through and launched in a hurry. Now that it has become a problem, the government is acting as if it had nothing to do with it," and "Single-stock leveraged ETFs should be abolished as soon as possible."
Others pointed to broader market damage, saying, "Even people who do not use leverage are seeing other stocks and even pensions get crushed because of the capital flow into leveraged products."
Some also said, "This does not feel like someone else’s problem. One wrong judgment in an instant can lead to this," and "If it is true, I worry about how he will cope with the despair of losing wealth saved over 40 years."

As the controversy grew, financial regulators also moved to tighten rules. The Financial Services Commission (FSC) said that from the 31st, the base deposit requirement for single-stock leveraged ETFs will be raised from 10 million won to 30 million won in cash, and the use of substitute securities will also be restricted.
Until now, investors without cash could meet the deposit requirement by pledging stocks they already held as collateral or by using sale proceeds on the same day to buy again immediately. Going forward, only investors with 30 million won in actual cash will be able to enter, and repeated same-day selling and repurchasing will become more difficult.
At present, most single-stock leveraged products have fallen more than 60% since their launch.

[email protected] Sung Min-seo Reporter