South Korea2026-07-22 05:39:13South Korean Brokerages Rush to Acquire Crypto Exchanges: Kiwoom Eyes Bithumb, Samsung Already InKiwoom Securities is reportedly in early talks to acquire a stake in Bithumb, joining a wave of South Korean brokerages including Samsung, Hanwha, and Mirae Asset that have already invested in local crypto exchanges. The upcoming STO law is the key driver.530
South Korea s2026-07-21 04:35:09Korean student says he will trade on margin again after nearly KRW 300 million account was wiped outA 24-year-old university student in South Korea turned KRW 20 million saved during military service into nearly KRW 300 million by trading stocks with 5x margin, only to lose the entire amount after a forced liquidation during sharp market swings in May, according to a Reuters interview cited by ABMedia. Even after the loss, he said he plans to use margin again once he rebuilds his capital. The case captures a broader pattern in South Korea’s retail market. With Seoul apartment prices estimated at about 14 years of wages, leveraged stock trading apps have become, for some young investors, a shortcut toward home ownership and wealth accumulation. Data cited in the report showed margin balances in the domestic stock market reached a record KRW 38.63 trillion on June 24, while the Bank of Korea said broader investor debt had exceeded KRW 60 trillion by the end of May. Brokerages, banks, and regulators have all started tightening conditions. Major securities firms have raised margin requirements on heavily financed names including Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, major banks have nearly exhausted annual household lending quotas, and the Financial Supervisory Service on July 17 banned new leveraged ETFs tied to individual stocks.1430
margin tradin2026-07-17 11:16:38Brokerages deny reports of widespread margin account liquidationsRumors spread on social media on Friday afternoon claiming that margin financing and securities lending accounts were being liquidated in batches and that brokerages had started large-scale forced selloffs. The claims stirred investor concern. Interviews cited by Shanghai Securities News showed a different picture. According to the report, several brokerage sources said overall risks in margin financing and securities lending business remain under control, and there has been no broad wave of concentrated forced liquidations. The report added that some accounts have reached warning or margin call thresholds, but forced liquidation cases remain isolated rather than systemic. The account circulating online, the sources said, materially diverged from actual market conditions.1730
