Chef Yeo Gyeong-ok, known for winning investment contest, takes 60% loss on SK hynix leveraged ETF

Chef Yeo Gyeong-ok, known for winning a real-money stock investment competition, has taken a loss of more than 60 percent on a leveraged ETF tied to SK hynix.

Yeo shared a screenshot of her brokerage account on Instagram on Wednesday, writing, "It's sad, but let me show you an example of a failed investment."

The screenshot showed her position in a single-stock leveraged ETF tracking SK hynix. She had invested about 120 million won ($81,000) to buy 3,317 shares, recording an unrealized loss of about 74 million won, or minus 61.38 percent, leaving her account value at roughly 46 million won.

Yeo did not disclose when the screenshot was taken, but the per-share price of about 14,000 won visible in the image suggests it was captured at an earlier point. As of 2:16 p.m. Thursday, the price had fallen to 12,710 won — roughly 10 percent below the level shown in her post — pushing the loss close to 70 percent.

The single-stock leveraged ETF has dropped sharply as SK hynix shares have pulled back amid concerns over a semiconductor bubble and profit-taking. SK hynix broke through 3 million won per share during trading on June 23 but has since reversed course, trading around 1.89 million won as of Thursday.

Whether Yeo is in the red across her overall portfolio remains unclear, however. Last month, she disclosed that she had bought 9,000 shares of Samsung E&A and was sitting on a gain of about 245 million won, a return of 102 percent.

Yeo's investing track record has drawn attention before. In 2022, her older brother, chef Yeo Gyeong-rae, brought up her investment history on Channel A's "Oh Eun-young's Golden Counseling Center."

"My younger sibling once won first place in a real-money investment competition," Yeo Gyeong-rae said on the program. "It was covered in the newspapers, and she received a sedan as the prize. She's incredibly sharp."

Yeo Gyeong-ok is a star chef who represents the domestic Chinese cuisine industry and has contributed to making high-end Chinese food more accessible and contemporary. She has appeared on various programs, including "Chef's Chicken War" and "Doctor Chef."