South Korea retail margin debt explodes into massive forced liquidation wave

Korean retail got absolutely torched with forced liquidations everywhere. Buy the dip they said while brokers sold everything no matter the price. The leveraged ETF pile in turned into a bloodbath as decay and margin calls fed on each other. Now hundreds of thousands are wiped out owing money on top. Classic degen move that ends exactly like this every cycle.

Margin call ratio hit nearly 5 percent far above normal 1 to 2 percent range.Outstanding margin loans topped 2 trillion KRW more than double typical levels.Over 1.2 million accounts triggered margin calls and 320000 to 360000 got forcibly liquidated.Retail traders loaded up on leveraged ETFs at record pace leading to this unwind.Many investors now owe brokers money even after positions closed due to the debt.This ranks as one of the most brutal retail margin unwinds in recent history.