Margin Bets Surge as Korea Investors Chase Asia’s Hottest Stocks

South Korean mom-and-pop investors are ramping up leverage to chase equity gains, driven by optimism surrounding corporate governance reform that’s made the benchmark Kospi stock index Asia’s best performer this year.

Outstanding margin loans rose to 20.1 trillion won ($14.7 billion) as of June 23, the most in almost a year, according to data from the Korea Financial Investment Association. Investor deposits, a gauge of sidelined cash available for stock purchases, reached 65 trillion won, a level unseen since mid-2022.