South Korean Retail Investors Sell Nearly $1 Trillion Won in U.S. Semiconductor ETFs This Week, Redirect Funds to Micron, SanDisk, and SK Hynix ADRs

According to data released Wednesday (5th) by the Korea Securities Depository’s SEIBRO platform, South Korean investors in U.S. equities executed a net sale of $664.39 million (approximately 948.6 billion won) in the 3x leveraged semiconductor index ETF (SOXL) on Monday (3rd). This single-day volume represents 17.5% of the total net purchase of $3.78586 billion recorded for the entire month of July.

Despite a partial repurchase of $57.04 million on Tuesday (4th), the overall outflow trend persisted, with a combined net sale of $607.35 million over the first two trading days of the week. Meanwhile, the 3x long Korea ETF (KORU) also saw a net sale of $45.63 million during the same period.

Market analysts interpret this move as profit-taking by retail investors, who capitalized on SOXL’s recent rebound after its price plunged from over $200 in early July to below $100.

However, capital has not exited the semiconductor sector entirely—it has shifted from leveraged ETFs to individual physical stocks. Over the first two trading days of the week, Micron led inflows with a net purchase of $140.83 million, followed by SanDisk at $145.47 million, and SK Hynix ADR attracting $93.23 million (approximately 1.33 trillion won), ranking third.

South Korean retail appetite for U.S. equities remains robust: net purchases totaled $633 million in June, surged to $4.669 billion in July, and continued with $278 million in August—marking three consecutive months of net inflows.

Analysts note that while leveraged ETFs suit short-term speculation, their returns are often eroded by volatility. Amid the ongoing upcycle in HBM and AI memory demand, investors now prefer holding individual stocks with strong earnings visibility.

This 'de-leveraging' trend in Korea reflects a broader shift among retail investors—from momentum-chasing with leveraged products to more selective, stock-picking strategies amid high-beta semiconductor rallies.