"What Were You Doing When Investors Piled Into Samsung and SK hynix?" ... Renowned Foreign Anchor Slams Authorities Amid KOSPI Plunge

CNBC Anchor: "Where Were You When Investors Piled In?"
Leverage at Samsung Electronics, SK hynix Also Criticized

Foreign media have also criticized the KOSPI index after it fell repeatedly over the past seven days, arguing that financial authorities were slow to respond even as the domestic stock market plunged.

Steve Sedgwick, a veteran anchor at CNBC International, a financial news broadcaster, hosted a program on October 15 (local time) on the theme, “KOSPI Set for Worst Close Since April as Global AI Selloff Deepens.”

Steve Sedgwick, veteran anchor at international financial broadcaster CNBC. Screenshot from CNBC broadcast.

Sedgwick, who worked as a trader in U.S. financial markets for 11 years, is now an anchor at CNBC International. On that day, he told viewers about an emergency meeting held by South Korea’s financial authorities to assess the markets.

The meeting was chaired by Financial Services Commission Chairman Lee Eog-weon and attended by officials from related institutions, including the Financial Supervisory Service and the Korea Exchange, as well as representatives from securities firms. Chairman Lee urged them to “stay alert even to small market fluctuations and actively respond to ensure financial market stability and protect investors,” adding that “investments relying on excessive debt and credit are risky, so please refrain from indiscriminate credit extensions and focus on customer protection and risk management.”

The KOSPI plunged more than 7% that day, closing lower for the seventh consecutive trading day. The index had fallen 21% since October 6, while Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, the two largest companies in South Korea by market capitalization, plunged 24% and 31%, respectively, over the same period.

Commenting on the meeting, Sedgwick criticized the authorities, asking, “Isn’t this a case of closing the stable door after the horse has bolted? Where were they, and what were they doing when South Korean retail investors were increasing their leverage to unprecedented levels, or when investors were piling into Samsung Electronics and SK hynix? Don’t those two stocks account for half of the KOSPI?”

The broadcast also raised concerns that leverage among domestic memory chipmakers, including Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, had become excessive.

Meanwhile, forced liquidations on the domestic KOSPI market totaled KRW 89.3 billion on October 14, the highest level in about two months.

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