Officials said President Lee Jae-myung was urging faster implementation of measures already announced for single-stock leveraged products, including higher deposits, cash-only collateral and tighter tracking-gap accountability.
South Korea's presidential office said President Lee Jae-myung's call for a swift and bold response to single-stock leveraged ETFs was not a demand for new restrictions but a push to implement existing curbs more quickly. Policy chief Kim Yong-beom said the priority is to bring forward measures announced by the Financial Services Commission on July 16, then assess their impact before considering whether further steps are needed. The package raises the minimum deposit to 30 million won from 10 million won, counts only cash toward deposits, increases the ETF trading unit to 20 shares from one share, and strengthens accountability at asset managers and brokerages for tracking gaps. Lee said the products had contributed to stock-market instability and complaints from domestic investors, though officials also acknowledged conflicting assessments of 2x leveraged ETFs tied to Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix Inc., with some analyses saying they reduced capital outflows and others finding they worsened volatility.