A Korean university student used 5x leverage to turn $13k into 200k, but it was wiped out to zero

A 24-year-old Korean college student used 5x leverage, turning $13k into $200k—but just a few weeks later, he nearly lost it all again.

At 24, Lee Sang-hoo invested his savings accumulated during mandatory military service into the stock market. When the market was rising, leverage rapidly amplified his account; after the market turned, the brokerage carried out consecutive forced liquidations, and all the money he had made was wiped out—the account even fell below his original investment.

The average price of an apartment in Seoul is roughly equivalent to 14 years of wages, while his monthly living expenses are only $338.

For many young Koreans, buying a home is becoming increasingly out of reach, and the stock market seems like the only escape for a few to change their destiny.