Korea Market Crashes Are Luring Traders Hooked on Leveraged ETFs

In Hwaseong, about an hour south of Seoul, Park Eun-hye has been staying up well past midnight to load up on risky bets on South Korean stocks.

Her go-to is KORU, a triple-leveraged ETF that magnifies every move — a type of product that has become almost an addictive pastime among the country’s day traders. With every selloff, Park sees an opportunity — and for her, a clear one emerged when South Korea’s stock market suffered its worst crash in history last week. When she saw the ETF was down more than 40% during pre-market trading, she couldn’t resist and began buying.