Wife's 30-Year "Day Trading" Even Costs Her Retired Civil Servant Husband His Whole-Life Insurance... What Does the "Father of the Donghak Ants" Advise?

Repeated stock trading with KRW 120 million in initial capital
KRW 40 million in losses... Making or losing several million won in a day
John Lee: "Stocks should not be treated as a way to profit from short-term price gains"

A story has emerged on a television program about a couple whose approaches to managing their retirement assets are causing conflict: the wife has been investing in stocks for 30 years, while her husband continues to work as an apartment building manager after retiring from public service.

A couple’s differing approaches to managing their retirement assets have come to light: the wife, in her 60s, has been investing in stocks for 30 years, while her husband continues to work as an apartment building manager after retiring from public service. Screenshot from EBS’s “Baekse Buja.”

On the EBS program "Baekse Buja," which aired on November 9, the daily lives of Kim Honggi, 70, and his wife, Park Eunhee, 65, were featured. Kim retired after working as a civil servant for 36 years and six months and has since worked as an apartment building manager for 10 years. The couple currently has a stable monthly income of KRW 7.1 million, comprising Kim's civil servant pension of KRW 3.5 million and his salary as an apartment building manager of KRW 3.6 million.

However, the couple faced a financial crisis because they managed their assets separately. For 30 years, Park has checked stock prices on her smartphone and computer each morning when the market opens, repeatedly selling when prices rise and buying more when they fall. She described stock investing as a "money game," saying, "I sometimes make or lose several million won in a day."

The program revealed that Park's cumulative stock trading volume over the past three years was approximately KRW 10 billion. Her initial investment was about KRW 120 million, but her account had an unrealized loss of approximately KRW 40 million. Kim expressed his dismay, saying, "I thought there might be some losses, but I didn't realize they would be that large."

A story has emerged about a conflict over retirement asset management between a woman in her 60s who has been investing in stocks for 30 years and her husband, who continues to work as an apartment building manager after retiring from public service. Screenshot from EBS's "Baeksebuja" program.

Park repeatedly bought more shares when prices fell, a practice known as "averaging down." It was also revealed that she had surrendered the whole-life and cancer insurance policies taken out in her husband's name and used the money to invest. The surrender value of the policies, which she had paid premiums on for about 20 years, was approximately KRW 16 million.

The couple's housing situation was another source of conflict. They rent out their apartment in Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, on a jeonse basis and live in an apartment they purchased in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province. They plan to return to their home in Seoul in March 2027, but they must repay their tenant a jeonse deposit of KRW 460 million. Meanwhile, the market value of their Yangju apartment has fallen to approximately KRW 350 million to KRW 360 million, leaving them about KRW 100 million short of the amount they need to return.

Kim argued that his wife should sell her stocks to raise the funds they were short of. Park, however, insisted that she could not sell while she was at a loss. Hoping to pass their assets on to their son, she had tried to protect the money she had invested, but she now faced a choice between the cash they needed immediately and her investment losses.

A story has emerged about a woman in her 60s who has invested in stocks for 30 years and her husband, who continues to work as an apartment building manager after retiring from government service. Their approaches to managing their retirement assets are causing conflict. Screenshot from EBS's "Baekse Buja."

John Lee, former CEO of Meritz Asset Management, appeared on the program as an expert to help resolve the problem. Comparing Park's stock-trading approach to gambling at a casino, Lee said, "It is bound to fail 100% of the time." He pointed to the fees and taxes incurred through frequent trading and stressed, "Stocks should not be treated as a way to seek short-term capital gains."

He added, "To prepare for retirement, investors should move away from seeking short-term gains and instead pursue long-term investing by holding shares in high-quality companies for an extended period, using tax-advantaged accounts such as pension savings funds."

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