The AI Trade That Froze South Korea’s Stock Market [37sJ3EXputV]
South Korea became one of the biggest winners of the global AI boom. Demand for high-bandwidth memory sent its two largest chipmakers soaring. Exports surged, profits exploded, and millions of ordinary investors—known locally as “ants”—poured money into the market. Then the trade changed. Households borrowed record amounts. Leveraged funds appeared that could double the daily movement of the hottest chip stocks. And because two companies had grown to represent more than half of Korea’s main stock index, a fall in those two shares could pull almost the entire market down with them. During one extraordinary week, the exchange was forced to stop trading twice. This video explains how a genuine industrial boom became a fragile national trade, why leveraged ETFs can lose money even when the original investment nearly recovers, and how investors can be right about AI over the next decade—but still lose this month. This video is for educational purposes and does not constitute financial advice. ## References Reuters — What South Korea’s wild stock ride tells us about the AI trade Reuters — South Korea’s KOSPI plunges nearly 10% after regulator cautions on leveraged ETFs Reuters — Retail investors hit borrowing limits at South Korean brokerages Reuters — South Korean watchdog regrets rushed launch of leveraged ETFs Reuters — How SK Hynix’s bet on a niche memory chip made it more valuable than Samsung OECD — Korea Economic Outlook, 2026 Reuters — Big Tech’s combined AI investment swells above $700 billion