South Korean regulators banned new listings of leveraged exchange-traded funds tied to individual stocks, a move to cool speculative fever after margin loan balances hit a record 38.63 trillion won on June 24. The Financial Supervisory Service admitted the products were approved too hastily, calling the intervention a correction of a policy error. Total investor debt surpassed 60 trillion won at the end of May, coinciding with the Kospi's transformation into the world's hottest and most volatile stock market. The ban follows violent swings that triggered forced liquidations for retail investors like 24-year-old Lee Seung-ho, who saw a 300 million won fortune built with a 500% margin loan evaporate in four weeks. Lee plans to borrow again, reflecting a deeply leveraged retail investing culture driven by young South Koreans locked out of traditional wealth accumulation.