{
  "id": 65525,
  "title": "Crushed by Kospi rout, angry South Koreans rip government and vow not to buy",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/03/crushed-by-kospi-rout-angry-south-koreans-rip-government-and-vow-not",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-08-03T00:45:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Straits Times Business",
    "slug": "straits-times-business",
    "url": "https://www.straitstimes.com/business/crushed-by-kospi-rout-angry-south-koreans-rip-lee-jae-myung-and-vow-not-to-buy"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "South Korea's retail traders, known for their risk-taking, experienced a crushing reversal in the Kospi stock index in July. This volatility exposed the limits of their tolerance. Some traders, like Kim Han-kyung, vowed never to invest again, while others likened the market to a casino. Retail investors sold record amounts of Kospi shares despite a 22% loss for the month, the steepest since the global financial crisis. The government's stock-market reform drive and the debut of leveraged ETFs were blamed for amplifying the volatility. Trading in Kospi stocks was halted four times due to circuit-breaker suspensions. The government promised additional measures to stabilise the market, but many believe the steps came too late. The AI boom that fueled South Korea's rally remains intact, but July served as a harsh lesson that the same forces capable of delivering outsized gains can also unravel quickly.",
  "summary": "The dramatic unravelling in July followed months of optimism that had built around South Korean equities.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 4,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "BBC Business",
        "title": "South Korean shares soar after chip stock rout",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/07/31/south-korean-shares-soar-after-chip-stock-rout",
        "published": "2026-07-31T06:56:02.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Cointelegraph",
        "title": "South Korean stablecoin outflows top $367M in June: Report",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/03/south-korean-stablecoin-outflows-top-367m-in-june-report",
        "published": "2026-08-03T04:05:11.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Tech in Asia",
        "title": "South Korean battery makers return to Q2 profit",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/03/south-korean-battery-makers-return-to-q2-profit",
        "published": "2026-08-03T06:01:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}