Actor Han Jung-su criticizes government over 'wartime' market crash: 'Are they just watching?'

Actor Han Jung-su sharply criticized the government Wednesday for standing by as South Korean stock markets suffered a historic two-day collapse. The Kospi fell below the 6,000-point mark after two consecutive days of steep losses, and circuit breakers were triggered across both the Kospi and Kosdaq for two straight days — an unprecedented event in the country's market history.

Han took to social media Wednesday to voice his frustration. "Circuit breakers were triggered on consecutive days — Tuesday and Wednesday," he wrote. "This is effectively worse than a war or a natural disaster. Is the government just watching? Have they lost their minds?"

He went on to criticize the government for what he called a reckless policy reversal. "The government suddenly allowed 2x leveraged products in May, turning the stock market into a playground for foreign investors, and now they're turning a blind eye," he wrote. "Have they really lost their minds?"

The Kospi closed Wednesday at 5,663.24, down 360.42 points, or 5.98 percent, from Tuesday. The Kosdaq extended its sharp decline as well — after falling 7.72 percent on Tuesday — closing down 43.17 points, or 6.12 percent, at 662.68.

As markets tumbled, regulators activated both sell-side sidecars — a temporary suspension of program sell orders — and circuit breakers, which halt all trading for 20 minutes, across both markets for the second consecutive day. According to Korea Exchange, it was the first time circuit breakers had been triggered on both markets on back-to-back days.

A circuit breaker is a market cooling mechanism that activates at the first level when either the Kospi or Kosdaq falls more than 8 percent from the previous day's close for at least one minute.

The post drew a flood of comments from retail investors. "Everything is in chaos right now," one user wrote. Others said "my money is melting away," "the government needs to come up with a plan," "I've never seen a market like this in all my years of investing," and "only small investors are taking the hit."

Meanwhile, the government in May approved trading of domestic single-stock ±2x leveraged ETFs and ETNs based on Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. The products track twice the daily return of their underlying assets and carry high risk; financial authorities at the time urged investors to exercise extreme caution given the potential for significant losses.

As single-stock leveraged products proliferated rapidly, concerns mounted that they could amplify market volatility. Financial authorities responded by temporarily suspending new listings and tightening investor deposit requirements as part of follow-up measures.