“노후자금 다 날렸다…코스피가 도박판” [잇슈 머니] / KBS 2026.07.17.

The next keyword is "Gambling Dungeon KOSPI." One day it crashes, the next day it skyrockets; the market these days is truly out of control. I hear people are even calling it a gambling den? [Answer] Yes, looking at the numbers, calling it a gambling den is not an exaggeration. In the history of the KOSPI, circuit breakers have been triggered only 13 times—once during crises like the 9/11 attacks or COVID-19—and seven of those were triggered this year. Sidecars also occurred 37 times this year, accounting for one-third of the total 97 triggers in history, which is about 12 times the number from last year. What is even more surprising is that 19 of these 37 sidecar triggers—half of them—occurred within the month and a half following the listing of single-stock leverage ETFs on May 27. With the market's emergency brakes constantly in operation like this, the index itself is also volatile. The KOSPI, which plummeted 8.95% on July 13 to fall to the 6,800 level, surged 6.24% just two days later on the 15th to close at the 7,200 level, triggering a buy-side circuit breaker. Then, on the 16th, a sell-side circuit breaker was triggered. It is a market where the brakes are applied during crashes and the brakes are applied during surges. The scale of the decline is also significant. After hitting an all-time high of 9,385.59 during trading on June 19, the KOSPI fell to the 7,000 level in about three weeks. It dropped by more than 20% in just one month. [Anchor] But why did the market suddenly become such a roller coaster? I heard even the President stepped in? [Answer] The single-stock leverage ETF for Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which was listed on May 27, is being identified as the main culprit amplifying this volatility. This product is structured to amplify the decline. Because it tracks daily fluctuations at double the rate, the so-called "negative compounding"—where losses snowball during a market crash—has become a reality. Following the sharp decline in two stocks on July 13, 14 related ETFs simultaneously hit all-time lows, and the market capitalization of these products evaporated by nearly 6 trillion won in less than a month. The securities industry has also analyzed that "single-stock leverage products are a supply and demand distortion factor that accelerates stock price declines." The problem is that the damage is concentrated among individual investors. According to the Financial Supervisory Service and other sources, individual investors account for approximately 90% of the trading volume for leverage ETFs. While 290,000 people alone completed pre-investment training for this product, the unrealized gains and losses of the four single-stock leverage ETFs for Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix turned from a surplus of 2 trillion won at the end of June to a loss of 6 trillion won on July 14. In just 15 days, investment performance has deteriorated by approximately 8 trillion won. Consequently, reviews are appearing on community sites stating that people have "lost their retirement and wedding funds." Ultimately, President Lee Jae-myung directly addressed this product during his work report on July 15 and instructed the Financial Supervisory Service and the Korea Exchange to "quickly prepare supplementary measures." Finally, yesterday (the 16th), financial authorities decided to temporarily suspend new listings of leveraged ETFs until the market stabilizes and to triple the minimum deposit requirement from the current 10 million won to 30 million won. [Anchor] But is the current volatile market solely a problem for leveraged ETFs? I heard that semiconductor companies' earnings are at an all-time high, so why aren't stock prices keeping up? [Answer] Yes, that is precisely the real reason that is not visible to the eye. In short, it is because a structure is being created where the money earned cannot reach the shareholders. First, 12% of the profits are now set aside first as employee performance bonuses. In May, Samsung Electronics management and labor agreed to guarantee a funding source for 10 years equivalent to 12% of the semiconductor division's operating profit—that is, adding a special management performance bonus of 10.5% to the existing 1.5% performance bonus. Of this, the special management performance bonus alone is estimated to provide approximately 128 trillion won in funds over the next three years. Shareholder groups are pushing back, calling it an "illegal dividend disguised as a dividend." A structure where performance bonuses take precedence over dividends has been institutionalized. Second is the bill for domestic investment. In alignment with the government's three major mega-projects, Samsung announced a massive investment plan of 2,655 trillion won and SK announced 2,100 trillion won, totaling 4,755 trillion won. This amount, equivalent to 6.5 times this year's government budget, will flow into factories rather than as future dividends. ...