South Korea's Financial Services Commission, Financial Supervisory Service, and Korea Exchange announced on July 24 that stricter minimum deposit rules for single-stock leveraged ETFs and ETNs will take effect July 31. The minimum cash deposit will rise from $7,200 (10 million won) to $21,700 (30 million won), and substitute collateral — including stocks, ETFs, and bonds — will no longer count toward the requirement.

The tighter standard applies equally to domestic products tied to Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix and overseas single-stock leveraged products linked to Tesla and Nvidia. Authorities accelerated the timeline after rapid fund inflows into these products, combining a deposit hike and collateral exclusion originally slated for separate August dates. Existing investors must meet the 30 million won cash threshold for additional purchases, though selling current holdings remains unrestricted.

Deposit recognition rules will also tighten. Sale proceeds will only count as cash after settlement (T+2), not on the trade date, and loans backed by sale proceeds are excluded. The practice of lowering deposit requirements for experienced traders after three months will end; firms may only strengthen, not relax, the threshold. Securities firms unprepared by July 31 may face restrictions on new trading in these products.