South Korean retail investors have abandoned leveraged ETFs after regulatory requirements made them too cumbersome to use. The products, linked to Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix and targeting twice or thrice the daily return of underlying assets, saw trading value collapse to 4% of peak levels. AUM dropped from $11.4 billion in June to $5 billion as of August 27, with monthly outflows exceeding $1 billion in August.

Regulators introduced a mandatory five-day course with simulated trading, requiring a Windows-only program on a personal computer for at least an hour daily. Investors described the process as a "cumbersome" "hassle" and the computer requirement as "too demanding." The KOSPI remains up over 60% year-to-date but down over 25% from its June peak, with the volatility gauge falling to a four-month low of 50 from late-June levels of 97.