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Surge in Retail 'Professional Investors' Amid Korean Stock Market Rally
Finance · Investment Banks/Brokers · yonhap_finance · 2026-09-01
The number of retail professional investors in Korea has jumped by nearly 4,000 in seven months, raising concerns over high-risk leverage and forced liquidations.
What Happened
Rapid Growth: As of late July, the number of registered retail professional investors reached 26,282, marking a 16.8% increase in just seven months. This trend reflects heightened retail interest in high-risk, high-return assets during the market rally.
Regulatory Context: Professional investor status allows individuals to access complex financial products like CFDs and benefit from relaxed regulatory constraints. The surge is largely attributed to the strong performance of the KOSPI during the first half of the year.
Risk of Forced Liquidation: Market volatility in July led to a sharp rise in forced liquidations, with daily averages reaching over 40 billion won, a 13-fold increase compared to the previous year. The reliance on margin debt has exacerbated losses for retail investors during recent market corrections.
Call for Protection: Lawmakers have expressed concerns that the professional investor designation could be misused to bypass regulations. There is an urgent call for financial authorities to implement robust investor protection measures to mitigate the risks of systemic losses.