Korea's margin debt doubled — and rotated out of KOSDAQ
Korea's stock margin-loan balance rose from ₩16.84tn in 2025-01 to ₩33.39tn in 2026-09 — a 98% increase — peaking at ₩38.63tn on 2026-06-24. Over the same stretch, KOSDAQ's share of that debt fell from 42.1% to 22%.
Read this before the table: more debt, and a different mix
In 2025-01, KOSDAQ names carried 42.1% of all margin debt — by 2026-09 that had fallen to 22%, even as the total balance grew 98%. New leverage went mostly into KOSPI-listed stock. This page does not say why — index-inclusion flows, large-cap momentum and shifting risk appetite are all candidates, and none is measured here.
Margin-loan balance by month, KOSPI vs KOSDAQ — Jan 2025 to 2026-09
| Month | Total (₩tn) | KOSPI (₩tn) | KOSDAQ (₩tn) | KOSDAQ share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-01 | 16.84 | 9.75 | 7.09 | 42.1% |
| 2025-02 | 18.23 | 10.38 | 7.85 | 43.1% |
| 2025-03 | 17.59 | 10.08 | 7.51 | 42.7% |
| 2025-04 | 17.56 | 10.16 | 7.40 | 42.1% |
| 2025-05 | 18.27 | 10.61 | 7.66 | 41.9% |
| 2025-06 | 20.79 | 12.66 | 8.13 | 39.1% |
| 2025-07 | 21.79 | 13.29 | 8.50 | 39% |
| 2025-08 | 22.16 | 13.57 | 8.58 | 38.7% |
| 2025-09 | 23.49 | 14.24 | 9.25 | 39.4% |
| 2025-10 | 25.53 | 15.82 | 9.71 | 38% |
| 2025-11 | 26.45 | 16.85 | 9.59 | 36.3% |
| 2025-12 | 27.29 | 17.13 | 10.16 | 37.2% |
| 2026-01 | 30.28 | 19.85 | 10.42 | 34.4% |
| 2026-02 | 32.67 | 21.67 | 11.00 | 33.7% |
| 2026-03 | 32.92 | 22.56 | 10.36 | 31.5% |
| 2026-04 | 35.71 | 24.68 | 11.03 | 30.9% |
| 2026-05 | 38.02 | 28.02 | 10.00 | 26.3% |
| 2026-06 | 37.33 | 29.23 | 8.09 | 21.7% |
| 2026-07 | 28.93 | 22.84 | 6.09 | 21.1% |
| 2026-08 | 33.25 | 26.29 | 6.96 | 20.9% |
| 2026-09 | 33.39 | 26.06 | 7.33 | 22% |
Each row is the last trading day on record for that month (month-end snapshot).
The biggest one-month fall in this window
Between 2026-06 (₩37.33tn) and 2026-07 (₩28.93tn), the total margin balance fell by ₩8.39tn in a single month — the sharpest drop in the series shown here. Whether this reflects forced liquidation, voluntary deleveraging, or price declines shrinking the collateral value is not something this balance series can distinguish on its own.
What this page does not say
- No cause for the KOSDAQ-to-KOSPI rotation or for the July 2026 drop — only the measured balances.
- 신용대주 (short-sale lending) and 예탁증권담보융자 (securities-collateral loans) are excluded.
- No by-sector or by-individual-stock breakdown yet.
- This is leveraged debt outstanding, not trading volume or net buying.
This is not investment advice. A rising margin balance measures leverage in the system — it is not a signal to add or remove leverage from any individual position.
Source
Korea Financial Investment Association, via data.go.kr 15094809 (신용공여잔고추이, credit balance for securities trading). Daily series aggregated to month-end, 2025-01–2026-09.