Millions of South Koreans, encouraged by President Lee Jae Myung's pledges to make the country's stock market work for ordinary citizens, poured savings into shares during a historic rally earlier this year, only to see sharp losses as the benchmark KOSPI index (South Korea's main stock exchange index) plunged nearly 40 percent from its June peak after doubling in the first half of 2026 on surging demand for AI-related memory chips. The volatility has hit first-time investors particularly hard, with many having taken out margin loans to fund purchases of shares in chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, the two companies that together dominate more than half the index. The government's decision to approve leveraged single-stock ETFs — instruments that amplify daily gains and losses — has drawn fierce political criticism, with Lee's approval rating falling to a record low of 43 percent as investors and rivals blame policy choices for deepening ordinary people's losses.