Seoul mayor Oh Se-hoon faults South Korean government over leveraged products and stock market turmoil

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon criticized the South Korean government over leveraged derivatives that he said helped drive sharp swings in the local stock market, according to Yonhap News Agency. He also took aim at President Lee Jae-myung’s proposed policy of "active debt relief" and urged the government to present fundamental countermeasures as soon as possible. Oh said the benchmark KOSPI index has triggered the temporary curbs on program trading 37 times this year, already above the 26 cases recorded during the whole of 2008, the year of the global financial crisis. He argued that the government approved the listing of leveraged derivatives tied to single stocks despite being aware of the risks. In his criticism, Oh said authorities stood by while retail investors’ assets kept shrinking, which he said led to the current situation.