South Korea's margin call ratio spikes to ~5%, triggering painful retail unwinding

The margin call to receivables ratio in South Korea has surged to about 5%, more than quadruple its typical 1-2% range, marking the third-highest level ever. Brokerage receivables have exceeded 2,000 billion won (~$1.34 billion) as retail investors heavily piled into leveraged ETFs.

Why it matters: Approximately 1.2 million trading accounts have faced margin calls, with 320,000–360,000 positions forcibly liquidated, causing some investors to still owe money to brokers.