"I Invested KRW 10 Million, Only KRW 2 Million Is Left" ... 77% Plunge Sends Retail Investors Who Piled Into Samsung Electronics and SK hynix Leveraged ETFs Crying Out

SK hynix Leverage Products Plunge 77% from Listing Prices

Leveraged single-stock exchange-traded funds (ETFs) designed to deliver twice the daily gains of Samsung Electronics and SK hynix have plunged to record lows since their listings. Some products have fallen to less than a quarter of their listing prices. An investment of KRW 10 million at the time of listing would now be worth only around KRW 2 million.

According to the Korea Exchange and Koscom CHECK on Oct. 15, 14 leveraged single-stock products tied to Samsung Electronics and SK hynix fell by about 19% to 22% that day. SK hynix plunged 11.06% and Samsung Electronics fell 9.48%, deepening losses for products that track twice the daily returns of the two stocks.

An electronic board in the dealing room at Hana Bank's headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul, displays the KOSPI, KOSDAQ and won-dollar exchange rate on Oct. 15, as the KOSPI fell below 5,600 intraday. The index opened at 5,673.01, down 335.8 points (5.59%) from the previous day's close of 6,008.81, and continued to extend its losses. 2026.10.15 Photo by Jo Yongjun

Five months after listing... three-quarters of investment wiped out

KODEX SK hynix Single Stock Leverage closed down 21.70% at KRW 5,285, while TIGER SK hynix Single Stock Leverage fell 22.13% to KRW 4,470. Both products extended their declines after hitting closing-price lows on Oct. 13, setting new lows.

The losses are even more striking compared with their listing prices. The KODEX product fell 77.46%, from KRW 23,450 to KRW 5,285, while the TIGER product dropped 77.63%, from KRW 19,985 to KRW 4,470. Assuming an investor bought and held KRW 10 million worth of each at its listing price, their current holdings would be worth about KRW 2.25 million and KRW 2.24 million, respectively.

Samsung Electronics leveraged products also fell to their lowest prices since listing. KODEX Samsung Electronics Single Stock Leverage closed down 19.63% at KRW 7,595, while TIGER Samsung Electronics Single Stock Leverage ended down 19.01% at KRW 6,880.

The Asia Business Daily DB

Compared with their initial listing reference prices of KRW 21,635 and KRW 19,975, respectively, the products were down 64.89% and 65.56%. Their prices had fallen to about one-third of their original levels in less than five months since listing on May 27. Both products fell below their previous closing-price lows recorded on July 30.

U.S. inflation and AI investment concerns... sell-sidecars triggered on KOSPI and KOSDAQ

Behind the sharp decline in semiconductor stocks are concerns about U.S. inflation and doubts over the profitability of artificial intelligence (AI) investments. The U.S. business publication Business Insider analyzed the sharp drop in South Korean stocks on Oct. 15 as the result of doubts about AI investment profitability combining with concerns that high interest rates would persist.

The report said that uncertainty over whether massive AI investments would generate actual profits, alongside U.S. inflation data that exceeded expectations, had heightened concerns about financing costs. It also cited competition from Chinese semiconductor companies, net selling by foreign investors, and the end of share buybacks by Samsung Electronics and SK hynix as factors weighing on the market.

New York’s three major stock indexes closed mixed amid rising international oil prices fueled by escalating tensions in the Middle East and reports of technological advances by Chinese memory chipmakers.

As South Korean stocks opened lower on Oct. 15 following a sharp plunge in semiconductor shares, including Samjeonnix, employees monitored stock prices and exchange rates at Hana Bank’s headquarters dealing room in Jung-gu, Seoul.

The KOSPI opened at 5,673.01, down 335.8 points, or 5.59%, from the previous day’s close of 6,008.81. October 15, 2026. Photo by Cho Yongjun.

The KOSPI closed at 5,554.22, down 454.59 points (7.57%) from the previous trading day, while the KOSDAQ ended at 760.82, down 63.06 points (7.65%). As losses widened shortly after the opening, sell-sidecars were triggered in the KOSPI market at 9:07:42 a.m. and in the KOSDAQ market at 9:12:23 a.m. The effectiveness of program sell orders was suspended for five minutes in each market, and circuit breakers, which temporarily halt stock trading, were subsequently triggered in both markets. It was the first time circuit breakers were triggered simultaneously in both markets in two and a half months, since July 29.

Individuals 'buy more' as foreign investors sell

The combined market capitalization of 16 single-stock leveraged and inverse products fell by KRW 807.8 billion, from KRW 4.3635 trillion the previous day to KRW 3.5557 trillion. Trading value rose 58.5% from the previous day to KRW 803.7 billion.

Despite the sharp declines, individual investors bought leveraged products. Individuals net purchased KRW 42.2 billion of KODEX SK hynix Single Stock Leverage and KRW 24.8 billion of KODEX Samsung Electronics Single Stock Leverage that day. Foreign investors net sold KRW 18.4 billion and KRW 5.7 billion of the same products, respectively.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.