“Because stock prices just kept rising” ... Person in their 50s invests 300 million won in retirement payout, suffers a loss within a month

[Financial News] A man in his 50s who invested 300 million won from his voluntary retirement payout in stocks suffered an approximately 30 million won mark-to-market loss in just one month. Anxious as stock prices rose, he bought shares sooner than he had planned. An expert criticized trying to time trades, saying it was no different from gambling.
Recently, the YouTube channel “ETF Aneun Hyeong” featured the investment story of A, a man in his 50s who retired early. A had kept his 300 million won voluntary retirement payout in the bank and planned to buy stocks in installments over three months if prices fell. But, contrary to his expectations, stock prices kept rising, so he invested the entire payout within 10 days. The stock market then fell, and within a month his mark-to-market loss had reached approximately 30 million won.
John Lee criticized the approach, saying, “Trying to time the market is gambling,” and calling it “a very bad investment habit to put a valuable retirement payout at the mercy of luck.” He said that a long-term perspective matters more in stock investing than the timing of trades, adding, “Investing in stocks is about investing time, not predicting prices, but many people mistakenly think that deciding when to get in and when to get out is investing.”
He also stressed the importance of managing living expenses separately from retirement funds after retiring. John Lee said, “If you’re in your early 50s, you’re still young, so you must find a job and earn your living expenses through income from work,” adding, “The 300 million won retirement payout isn’t money to use for immediate living expenses; it’s money you should leave untouched for at least five years and invest in full for your retirement.”
John Lee warned that people could fail in investing if they use their principal for living expenses or trade in response to short-term stock price fluctuations. He particularly recommended that people with little investment experience or those who have retired use index-tracking exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which invest across hundreds of stocks, rather than concentrating on individual stocks.

[email protected] Han Seung-gon Reporter