Data tracked by Goldman Sachs shows that the AUM of leveraged ETFs in South Korea has plummeted from its June 22 peak of $53 billion to the current $15–16 billion, a drop of over 70%. Leverage funds have been wiped out by more than 70%, and the most intense phase of deleveraging is already more than halfway through! Goldman Sachs previously estimated that during a major KOSPI crash, around 62% of institutional net selling was related to ETF liquidations. South Korean regulators have also suspended the listing of new single-stock leveraged ETFs and raised the capital threshold for retail investors trading these products—essentially turning off the tap while cleaning up the overflow. So, from a trading structure perspective, the most aggressive mechanical sell-offs are starting to fade~ What’s even more interesting is that despite leverage funds being hit this hard, South Korean retail investors are still holding strong— Foreign investors have cumulatively net sold approximately 116 trillion KRW, while South Korean individual investors have net bought nearly 100 trillion KRW, almost fully absorbing the semiconductor shares dumped by foreign capital. All I can say is, South Korean young people are seriously bold AF. Throw them a little bait, and they’ll bite without hesitation!