Since this year, Korean retail investors have bought a record $31 billion in US stocks, but as a result, they have become scapegoats for the depreciation of the Korean won, making them extremely angry. The won was at the bottom of the Asian dollar's performance this quarter, approaching a 16-year low in recent weeks. The governor of the Bank of Korea and other officials accuse retail investors of devaluing the Korean won due to the pursuit of overseas stocks. Park Eun-hye, an office worker who has bought US stocks for many years, said that the accusation “shocked” about 14 million retail investors in South Korea. She added that people were “extremely angry” that responsibility was placed on them for devaluing the won. According to Park, small investors are easy “targets” for accusations, and in fact, “excess liquidity and other broader factors may have a bigger impact.” According to Korea Securities Depository data, since this year, retail investors in South Korea have made net purchases of 31 billion US dollars in US stocks, which is an unprecedented scale. This level is almost three times the number of purchases they made in 2024, and more than 12 times that of 2019.

Since this year, Korean retail investors have bought a record $31 billion in US stocks, but as a result, they have become scapegoats for the depreciation of the Korean won, making them extremely angry. The won was at the bottom of the Asian dollar's performance this quarter, approaching a 16-year low in recent weeks. The governor of the Bank of Korea and other officials accuse retail investors of devaluing the Korean won due to the pursuit of overseas stocks. Park Eun-hye, an office worker who has bought US stocks for many years, said that the accusation “shocked” about 14 million retail investors in South Korea. She added that people were “extremely angry” that responsibility was placed on them for devaluing the won. According to Park, small investors are easy “targets” for accusations, and in fact, “excess liquidity and other broader factors may have a bigger impact.” According to Korea Securities Depository data, since this year, retail investors in South Korea have made net purchases of 31 billion US dollars in US stocks, which is an unprecedented scale. This level is almost three times the number of purchases they made in 2024, and more than 12 times that of 2019.