Restrooms become “trading rooms” in the South Korean stock market: How crazy is retail stock speculation?

Glonghui, May 14 — Since the beginning of this year, South Korea’s KOSPI index has risen by nearly 90% in total. According to South Korea’s JoongAng Ilbo, as the current stock investment boom in South Korea spreads across all ages and genders, the number of “hypersensitive” retail investors who are extremely sensitive to any phenomenon that could affect share prices is constantly increasing.At a department store in Seoul’s Gangnam district, the staff restroom is always full in every stall at 3:30 p.m. The reason is employees rush to check stock apps right before the market closes. An employee surnamed Kim said, “Our supervisor leaves his desk every day at 3:30 p.m. I found out later he feels it’s a bit awkward to check stock prices in the office, so he goes to the restroom. Ever since he started trading stocks recently, he does this almost every day.”In a local city, a caregiver surnamed Choi has been arriving at work one hour early every day recently in order to join the so-called “Auntie Stock Tip Group” in the break room. Choi said, “Colleagues on the same shift gather before work to share their returns and discuss stocks. It’s become a daily routine. Everyone keeps chatting about how much they’ve earned. I don’t want to fall behind, so I always join.”Data from Korea Securities Depository shows that last year, the number of people in South Korea holding listed company stocks reached 14.56 million, meaning that more than one out of every four South Koreans is participating in stock market investment. As KOSPI rises, the number of new individual investors entering the market recently has increased sharply. As of May 4, the number of active stock trading accounts has reached 105.22 million, an increase of 6.93 million from the end of last year.