Office worker Kim, a person surnamed Kim (25) in the second year at the company this year, said, "It has become especially hard to focus on work these days." He has been investing in stocks for six years since college, but in a plunge he has never experienced before, he finds it hard to take his eyes off his account.
Kim is currently investing nearly half of total assets in Korean and U.S. stocks. Kim said, "Watching the graph change every moment, I keep wondering all day if I should make additional trades while I'm at it, and then worry if I might blow my annual salary," adding, "I'm having trouble focusing on work, so I'm even considering deleting the securities app altogether."
As the KOSPI and KOSDAQ indexes have fallen sharply lately, the worries of individual investors are deepening. Those who jumped into investing during the uptrend and are now facing paper losses are also having trouble in daily life.
◇ First-ever back-to-back circuit breakers… Students and office workers all "scream"
A developer, a person surnamed Kim (34) who started stock investing by pooling money with his wife after getting married in April this year, also sighs every time he looks at his securities account. Kim said, "Compared with April, when the KOSPI surged, I've taken a loss of about 70 million won," adding, "The stress is just too much."
It is the same for a person surnamed Im (24), who attends a university in Seoul. Im said, "I steadily invested the money I earned from part-time jobs into stocks, but I lost more than 20% in a month," adding, "The money I worked for months to earn has vanished."
With volatile swings continuing to the point that mechanisms to curb volatility, such as sidecars and circuit breakers, have been repeatedly triggered, fatigue has grown.
According to the Korea Exchange (KRX) on the 29th, this year sidecars were triggered 41 times on the KOSPI market and 25 times on the KOSDAQ market. On both markets, sidecars were activated for 10 straight trading days starting on the 10th. A circuit breaker was also triggered that day following a sidecar. On the KOSPI market, back-to-back circuit breakers were implemented for the first time ever.
Losses for individual investors are also growing. In the case of Samsung Electronics(005930), which has the largest market capitalization in Korea, it is estimated that investors with paper losses have begun to outnumber those with paper gains. For 542,793 Samsung Electronics shareholders linked to Naver Pay's "My asset" service, the average purchase price is 223,797 won, but as of 2 p.m. that day, Samsung Electronics shares were stuck at 200,000 won. They even fell to 189,200 won during intraday trading.
◇ "Please just let me recover my principal"… Prayer meetings to "cheer on long-term holding" also appear
Managing "mental" health has become a must. Ban Jae-yun (24), president of Hanyang University's investment club "Stock Wars," said, "Some friends are shaken as certain semiconductor stocks move 10% in a day," adding, "We are encouraging club members not to be swept up by baseless rumors or rush into speculation out of impatience."
On social media (SNS), a "stock prayer meeting" video has racked up more than 500,000 views. A stock prayer meeting is content in which, like a preacher delivering a sermon, someone offers a roughly one-minute prayer for a stock that has plunged.
An "emergency prayer meeting" video posted the previous day surpassed 600,000 views. Nearly 1,000 self-deprecating comments were posted, such as "I just want to get my principal back" and "I can't watch with a smile anymore."
The books people look for have also changed. YES24 analyzed monthly bestsellers in the economics and business category and found that, in June this year, books on asset management, long-term investing and the macroeconomy accounted for more than half. This contrasts with the beginning of the year, when books on aggressive investing techniques dominated the top ranks.
◇ Experts: "Set your investing rules and keep a long horizon"
There is also a growing trend of people seeking psychiatric care after experiencing major losses during investing. In fact, one hospital in Seoul that specializes in treating gambling addiction said patients coming in for stock addiction recently account for more than 30%. It has nearly doubled compared with previous years, the hospital said.
Shin Jae-hyun, chief director of Gangnam Blue Psychiatry, said, "At first, many visit for depression and insomnia," adding, "In the course of counseling, self-blame and despair stemming from stock investing emerge as the main causes."
Experts advise that in a social climate where stock investing has gone beyond a craze to overheat, investors should establish their own principles. Choi Sam-uk, a specialist in addiction treatment and a director of the Korean Academy of Addiction Psychiatry, said, "When investing in stocks, you need to recognize the need for risk management," emphasizing, "It's important to set your own rules and try to invest with a long horizon."