Kospi Selloff Devastates South Korean Retail Investors

South Korea's retail investors have been hit hard by the recent sharp swings in the domestic stock market. The Kospi, which tracks South Korean stocks, posted one of its worst selloffs on record last month.

The BBC and other foreign media highlighted individual investors who lost large sums after betting heavily on major South Korean technology stocks including SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics.

One investor, Kim, said he invested money he had saved to buy a home in tech stocks and lost about 20 million won ($14,400) last month. The value of his holdings fell about 25% in July alone.

'I'll have to work really hard to make up for the losses,' he said. He added that some people around him were in even more desperate situations after going all-in with their savings.