South Korea’s ‘Ant’ Army Is Driving an AI Market Frenzy

South Korea’s ‘Ant’ Army Is Driving an AI Market Frenzy Some 14 million retail investors are piling into shares of two big tech giants, but worries are growing about what happens if chip demand dries up. In South Korea, 14 million retail investors known as “ants,” given their collective market firepower, are reshaping how equities are traded. Lately, they’ve been driving the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index, or Kospi, to new heights, piling into shares of the country’s two tech behemoths. The Kospi has surged close to 200% over the last 12 months, driven by an insatiable demand for artificial intelligence-related chip stocks. But recent market volatility has shown the rally’s fragility, with South Korea uniquely vulnerable to sharp swings. That’s because its $4.7 trillion market is heavily concentrated in Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. That risk was on full display this week as sentiment soured on the global AI buildout, reigniting fears of a massive bubble and triggering a 10% drop in the benchmark index. In this weekly documentary, we answer the question of what’s driving the frenzy, and what might happen if it slows — or suddenly stops. Bloomberg Originals follows the individuals behind South Korea’s retail boom, exploring why so many are borrowing so much money to chase outsized gains. The recent selloff has put leveraged exchange-traded funds under a spotlight, prompting the country’s top regulator to acknowledge the risks of allowing single-stock leveraged products.