South Korean retail investors have shifted from individual U.S. semiconductor stocks toward broader and leveraged sector exposure as their overall buying momentum weakened. From September 1 to 4, they net sold more than $100 million of Micron, $68.61 million of SanDisk, $49.37 million of Marvell Technology, $15.56 million of Nvidia and $46.16 million of SK Hynix ADRs, while net buying $430.95 million of SOXL, a leveraged ETF targeting three times the daily return of the PHLX Semiconductor Index. They held $5.2317 billion of SOXL at the end of August. Korean investors also bought $94.92 million of SGOV, $47.28 million of IonQ, $39.88 million of JEPQ and $36.65 million of Merck. Their U.S. stock holdings reached $190.8 billion as of September 3, but August net purchases fell to $1.96 billion from $4.64 billion in July, with much of the monthly increase in holdings reflecting market gains. The rotation reflects profit-taking and peak-earnings concerns in individual chipmakers while investors retain exposure to longer-term artificial-intelligence and semiconductor growth. Leveraged ETFs amplify both gains and losses, making interest rates, Federal Reserve policy and short-term market direction important risks.