As the KOSPI climbed to the 8,000 mark for the first time ever, individual investors complaining of "FOMO (fear of missing out)" in a record bull market are surging. With eyes on the index's upward-sloping curve, a psychological pressure of "I should get on board even now" appears to be dominating the market.
On the 15th, the KOSPI index touched 8,000 within 10 minutes of the market open. It came seven trading days after the KOSPI index broke through 7,000 points.
The "FOMO" phenomenon among individual investors is also peaking. With Samsung Electronics and SK hynix on the verge of breaking through "300,000 won Samsung" and "2 million won hynix," respectively, the market is filled with laments such as, "I should have bought even when I hesitated that it was expensive."
Recently, even among homeowners in Seoul—symbols of rising asset value—such deprivation is being observed. On the office worker community "Blind," a post by an employee of an accounting firm who bought a home in Mapo District, Seoul, in Oct. last year drew attention.
The author, affiliated with Accounting Firm A, said, "In Oct. last year, upon getting married, I took out a total loan of 900 million won by combining an overdraft account and borrowing from my parents to purchase an older apartment in Gongdeok-dong for 1.8 billion won," adding, "Since the purchase, the home price has risen by about 100 million won."
The person said, "But in Aug. last year, I had 500 million won in Samsung Electronics stock alone, and if I had held it until now, it would be 2 billion won," adding, "If I had just kept the Samsung Electronics stock then, I would have 2 billion won with no debt, but now I'm paying 3.8 million won every month just in principal and interest."
Another Blind user wrote, "I'm considering selling real estate to use as stock investment funds." The author said they converted their owned home in Seoul to a jeonse lease and, by focusing the secured jeonse deposit and loan funds into stocks, grew the couple's combined asset to about 2 billion won.
The person said, "With a path opened to sell a non-resident single home, I want to sell the house and grow my asset more aggressively."
The spread of such FOMO even among homeowners appears to be because stock investors who reportedly made big money in this bull market are emerging one after another.
Recently on Blind, a retail investor revealed, "I switched my housing from jeonse to monthly rent, concentrated the secured cash into stocks, and earned 3.6 billion won this year alone."
In fact, investor deposits, a proxy for stock market sideline funds, have swelled to a record high. According to the Korea Financial Investment Association, as of the 13th, investor deposits surged to 137.1201 trillion won. Investor deposits increased by 21 trillion won in one month. The balance of margin loans, which indicates the scale of "debt-fueled investing," also reached 36.074 trillion won, rising by nearly 3 trillion won in a month.
However, caution seems necessary as volatility is rising. The KOSPI index, which hit 8,000 early in the session that day, plunged more than 5% and fell to the 7,500 level.