South Korea is about to hand retail investors a sharper set of tools. On May 27, the country will launch its first-ever single-stock leveraged ETFs, offering 2x daily long and 2x inverse exposure to two of its biggest corporate names: Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.
What’s actually launching
A total of 16 products will hit the market, issued by eight domestic asset management firms. Samsung Asset Management and Mirae Asset Global Investments are among the issuers. Every fund will carry an initial unit price of 20,000 won, roughly $13.30.
The products are straightforward in design. A 2x leveraged ETF on Samsung Electronics aims to deliver twice the daily return of the underlying stock. The 2x inverse version does the opposite, returning twice the daily decline as a gain. SK Hynix gets the same treatment.
Only those two companies currently qualify. South Korea’s revised Capital Markets Act, which the Cabinet approved with changes effective April 28, 2026, sets strict eligibility thresholds. A stock must represent at least 10% of the benchmark index’s total market capitalization and account for at least 5% of its trading volume over the prior three months.
