Ruling Party Demands Aide's Resignation Over ETF Turmoil, Cites 'Sophistry'

South Korea's ruling People Power Party on Monday demanded the immediate resignation of Presidential Policy Chief Kim Yong-beom, accusing him of offering "sophistry" instead of an apology for a volatile leveraged exchange-traded fund (ETF) incident that caused significant market fluctuations. The party labeled the situation a "catastrophe" that cost elderly citizens their retirement funds, young people their seed money, and 14 million retail investors their capital. Lawmakers are now pushing for a parliamentary inquiry and a special prosecutor to investigate the matter. The party also seized the opportunity to criticize the government's housing and tax policies, citing the sale of President Lee Jae-myung's apartment in Bundang. "Leveraged ETFs are a catastrophe that has inflicted enormous losses on the retirement funds of the elderly, the seed money of the youth, and the investment funds of 14 million retail investors, yet there is no responsibility for policy failure and no apology," said Rep. Na Kyung-won on social media. She added, "Presidential Policy Chief Kim should take responsibility for the leveraged ETF incident he caused, resolve the situation, and resign immediately." The party also questioned why the planned introduction of the ETF, initially scheduled for the second half of the year, was moved to the first half.

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Leveraged ETFs are a catastrophe that has inflicted enormous losses on the retirement funds of the elderly, the seed money of the youth, and the investment funds of 14 million retail investors, yet there is no responsibility for policy failure and no apology.