[Anchor]

We are joined by reporter Han Jiyeon for Monday's Friendly Economy. Han, the KOSPI has seen a significant rise, but polarization among stocks has become severe.

[Reporter]

The number of companies with a market capitalization of over 1 trillion won, known as the 1 Trillion Won Club, has fallen to the low 310s in just two months, after exceeding 400 in April.

According to the Korea Exchange, there were 405 companies in the 1 Trillion Won Club at the end of April, surpassing the 400 mark for the first time in history.

At that time, the KOSPI was at the 6,690 level.

However, now that the KOSPI has recovered to the 8,000 level, the number of companies in the 1 Trillion Won Club has dropped to 314, a decrease of 91 firms, or 22.5 percent, in just two months.

The KOSDAQ was hit particularly hard.

The number of KOSDAQ companies in the 1 Trillion Won Club, which stood at 137 at the end of April, plummeted by 43 percent to 78 in two months.

On the other hand, the 10 Trillion Won Club, consisting of companies with a market cap of over 10 trillion won, saw a smaller decline of about 10 percent, falling from 79 to 71.

This indicates that while the recent bull market has been concentrated on mega-cap semiconductor stocks like Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, mid-sized stocks and smaller have been left behind, leading to a clear polarization.

Analysts also suggest that the single-stock leveraged ETFs for Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which were listed at the end of May, may have further intensified this market concentration.

[Anchor]

We have seen that these single-stock leveraged products actually have many problems.

[Reporter]

For single-stock leveraged products linked to Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, there were 57 cases of excessive tracking error disclosures last month.

The tracking error refers to the difference between the actual value of an ETF and its trading price in the market.

As the tracking error widens, the possibility of the ETF being traded at a price different from its actual value increases.

A representative example is the tracking error incident involving the ACE SK Hynix single-stock leveraged ETF that occurred last month.

At the time, the stock price of the underlying asset, SK Hynix, fell by nearly 8 percent, but the ETF closed the day having surged by nearly 50 percent.

Normally, it should have fallen by about 15 to 16 percent. The price spiked momentarily because market orders were placed when there were not enough orders to support the price just before the market closed.

Authorities view this incident as a human error, where liquidity providers (LPs) failed to properly recognize the abnormal situation at the end of the trading session, rather than a fundamental flaw in the system itself.

LPs are securities firms that act as liquidity providers, placing buy and sell orders to ensure that ETF prices do not deviate significantly from their actual value.

Moving forward, authorities are considering stricter evaluation criteria for LPs or imposing penalties on asset management firms that experience tracking error incidents during future product listing reviews.

Measures such as raising the minimum deposit requirement or strengthening investor education are also being discussed to protect investors.

However, since the market impact has not yet been fully verified, financial authorities are focusing more on supplementing investor protection measures rather than expanding these products to stocks other than Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.

Recently, Financial Supervisory Service Governor Lee Chan-jin expressed strong concern, stating, "I regret that I did not stop the introduction of this system, even if it meant lying down to block it."

Nevertheless, there is also a cautious view that it is difficult to attribute all recent stock market volatility to these products alone.

Additionally, some argue that modifying products that have only been on the market for a month too hastily could dampen market functions.

[Anchor]

Lastly, this sounds like news that could be financially beneficial.

[Reporter]

Those who have subscribed to the Youth Future Savings Account or plan to do so should consider getting financial counseling first.

Just by receiving counseling, you can increase your preferential interest rate by 0.2 percentage points.

Starting today, July 6, the Financial Services Commission is accepting applications for "Financial Counseling for All Youth."

You can receive free, one-on-one personalized counseling tailored to your current financial situation, covering everything from household budget management to loans, investments, and retirement planning.

While the program is aimed at those aged 34 and under, subscribers to the Youth Leap Account or Youth Future Savings Account can receive counseling as an exception even if they exceed the age limit.

There are three ways to receive counseling: an on-site visit, a visit to a bank branch, or an online session.

Completing just one of these will automatically apply the 0.2 percentage point preferential interest rate to your Youth Future Savings Account.

To apply, you must first complete an online financial diagnosis on the dedicated website and then request counseling.

No separate supporting documents are required.

However, counseling must be completed by the end of the month that is three months prior to the month of the savings account's maturity date.

Even if you receive financial counseling first and sign up for the Youth Future Savings Account later, the preferential interest rate will be applied retroactively at maturity.