From euphoria to despair, Korea reckons with stock mania's emotional toll

South Korea's stock market, aiming to reflect the country's economic dynamism, instead led to investor trauma following a 30% decline since its June 19 peak. President Lee Jae Myung's government faced political repercussions, while retail investors suffered severe losses and potentially became traumatized, losing interest in investing altogether.

The phenomenon of "ants" - retail investors who swarm into trades - raised questions about South Korea's progress to developed market status. Many investors experienced losses, both realized and still on paper, while demand for psychiatric help rose and other signs of stress emerged. Police in Busan arrested a man in his 20s suspected of attempted murder for stabbing a YouTuber he blamed for his stock losses.

President Lee's promise to eliminate the "Korea Discount" - the tendency for local stocks to lag global peers - led to the introduction of leveraged ETFs in May, despite concerns about investor understanding of the risks. The market surge coincided with a global AI boom and led to a frenzy of leveraged trading, driven by the belief that leverage was the quickest way to overcome odds stacked against them.

Margin loan balances hit a record 29.8 trillion won by late June, and sentiment shifted in early July when the VKOSPI volatility gauge spiked to its highest level since 2009. The emotional and political fallout has been significant, with psychiatrists reporting a dip in their caseload of stock-related distress patients.