Korean retail investors are drawing global attention as sharp swings in the KOSPI coincide with the rapid growth of leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and a semiconductor-led market rally. One outlet says the KOSPI initially rises past the 9,000-point level before later correcting toward 6,000, leaving investors concerned about losses, particularly those holding leveraged products, which can magnify daily movements. The same reporting links the volatility to regulators’ introduction of single-stock leveraged ETFs, arguing that these instruments increase trading “steroids-induced” volatility compared with earlier leveraged ETFs that tracked broader market indexes such as the KOSPI. The coverage also notes a broader sentiment effect from international AI developments: it references a “DeepSeek moment” after Chinese startup Moonshot announced an AI model it claims is comparable to recent offerings from OpenAI and Anthropic. With AI sentiment described as temporarily fading, the report suggests renewed uncertainty may spill over into AI-related sectors, including Korea’s semiconductor-heavy stock market.