President Lee: "Shortcomings in Introduction of Leveraged ETFs... Details Not Yet Grasped"

President Lee Jae-myung said today (September 18) regarding the introduction of single-stock leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that "it seems true that there were shortcomings (in the policy)."

President Lee gave this answer during a press conference on this day, stating, "I wonder if there was some instability in government policy."

President Lee said, "I have not yet grasped the detailed procedural contents of how the leveraged ETFs were decided upon," adding, "Someone must have made the decision."

He continued, "I was also briefed at the time regarding the introduction of leveraged ETFs," and stated that the gist of the report was that "'it helps stabilize the foreign exchange market' and 'we must encourage domestic investment.' In principle, that was correct."

He added, "Looking back later, it seems to have been almost the final stage of the stock price rally. Large-scale purchases (of single-stock leveraged ETFs) took place, which may have contributed to the rise as well," evaluating, "However, as it turned into a downward trend, the losses doubled."

President Lee emphasized, "I understand that corrective and complementary measures were taken later when that became an issue and people questioned whether corrective and complementary measures were necessary," adding, "Now, it has reached a state where it is hardly an issue."

Even so, he added, "Criticism is possible that it would have been better if everything had been put in place in advance rather than supplementing it later."

Regarding the appointment of a new chief presidential secretary for policy, President Lee explained, "I am still deliberating."
 
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.