The Indicator from Planet Money · Tuesday, August 11, 2026
A significant portion of South Korea's adult population, over 3%, received margin calls, forcing them to sell investments to cover loans. The majority of these affected accounts belonged to individuals under 35, who may have had less experience with financial markets and took on excessive risk.
“More than 3% of the South Korean adult population received a margin call. Their broker saying, hey, you need to sell something or put up more cash to cover these loans.”
“Younger people felt confident taking on a lot of risk and maybe had less experience in financial markets. That's who got hurt.”