Overdraft borrowing jumps as investors chase KOSPI rally

Park, 35, an office worker living in Mapo District, Seoul, recently transferred 20 million won ($13,600) from his overdraft account to a brokerage account to buy shares of SK hynix. Watching semiconductor stocks leading the KOSPI rally surge higher, he said, “I felt anxious that if I kept waiting, prices would climb even further. It was difficult to time investments with just my salary, so I eventually turned to my overdraft account.” Another office worker in her 40s living in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, also recently withdrew around 10 million won from her overdraft account. “While deposit and savings rates have fallen, I keep hearing people around me talk about profits from stocks,” she said. “It wasn’t so much that I was short on living expenses, but rather that I didn’t want to miss out on investment opportunities.” She also invested part of the withdrawn funds in shares of Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. As of last Thursday, personal overdraft loan balances at the country’s five major banks — KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori and NH NongHyup — totaled 40.5 triWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times