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Ex-Lawmaker Yoo Seong-min Slams President Yoon Over Leveraged ETF Losses
🇰🇷 South Korea /Elections & Politics

Ex-Lawmaker Yoo Seong-min Slams President Yoon Over Leveraged ETF Losses

From Dong-A Ilbo · () Korean

Translated from Korean, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Former lawmaker Yoo Seong-min criticized President Yoon Suk Yeol's response to investor losses in leveraged ETFs, calling it indifferent.
  • Yoo accused the presidential office of pushing for the introduction of high-risk leveraged ETFs, despite warnings, and demanded a parliamentary inquiry.
  • He also questioned the National Pension Service's asset management principles, alleging its funds were used for stock market and currency defense.

Former lawmaker Yoo Seong-min has sharply criticized President Yoon Suk Yeol's administration for its perceived indifference to the plight of retail investors suffering significant losses in leveraged Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). Yoo specifically targeted the "Samjong Nix Leverage ETF," urging the president to move beyond a "looking across the river while the house is on fire" attitude.

It is not the time for the president to speak as if he is watching from the other side of the river while people are suffering greatly.

— Yoo Seong-minCriticizing President Yoon Suk Yeol's response to investor losses in leveraged ETFs.

Yoo asserted that the presidential office bears responsibility for the introduction of these high-risk, single-stock leveraged ETFs. He stated that the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) governor's recent remarks about regretting not stopping the products were irresponsible and that the presidential policy chief was the one who should have intervened. The FSS governor had previously acknowledged market criticism and stated he was accepting responsibility.

The responsibility for pushing the single-stock leverage of Samjong Nix lies with the Blue House.

— Yoo Seong-minBlaming the presidential office for the introduction of high-risk leveraged ETFs.

Demanding accountability, Yoo called for a parliamentary inquiry to investigate who introduced these high-risk products into a market where two stocks constitute over 50% of the market capitalization, and for what purpose. He argued that this situation necessitates immediate parliamentary action.

The FSS governor's statement that he regrets not stopping it even if it meant lying down at the time is irresponsible and detached from reality.

— Yoo Seong-minCommenting on the FSS governor's remarks about the leveraged ETF controversy.

Furthermore, Yoo raised concerns about the National Pension Service (NPS), alleging that its pension funds were manipulated for artificial stock price support and currency defense, thereby undermining its asset management principles. He criticized the NPS's decision to increase its domestic stock holdings and its opaque, non-standardized approach to strategic asset allocation as violations of its rebalancing principles.

It is widely known that the person who should have stopped it at the time was the presidential policy chief.

— Yoo Seong-minIdentifying the presidential policy chief as the one who should have intervened.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Dong-A Ilbo in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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