Comedian Kim Su-yong traded W45b in shares — here's what he made

Comedian Kim Su-yong, who has long said he favors short-term stock trading, has revealed his brokerage account to the public.

A clip from the Netflix variety show "Gaemi Kim Won-hun: The World of Stocks" was recently posted on YouTube channel Sijak Company under the title "Kim Won-hun marvels at Kim Su-yong's stock screen."

In the clip, broadcaster Kim Won-hun asks, "Sunbae, are you good at stocks?" Kim Su-yong responds by opening his mobile trading app and showing his account on screen.

The account records show that from July 1, 2020, through July 14 of this year — a span of roughly six years — Kim Su-yong bought shares worth 21.12 billion won ($15.5 million) and sold shares worth 23.88 billion won. He paid 6.74 million won in brokerage fees and 37.35 million won in taxes over that period.

After trading a total of 45 billion won in shares, his realized profit came to 112.15 million won — just 0.47 percent of his total sales proceeds.

Referring to people who boast about how much they have made in the stock market, Kim said, "Those people need to just open up their accounts."

Kim has said he began investing in stocks in 1999. He has spoken on variety programs about his early setbacks — including putting all his money into a fast-rising stock only to see it halved within a month — and about becoming so addicted to trading that he developed bipolar disorder.

After years of experience, he said he settled on short-term trading as his guiding principle: take profits immediately when a position moves in his favor, and cut losses quickly rather than holding on. On a 2020 broadcast, he drew attention by saying he buys and sells shares 70 times a day.

Online commenters weighed in with reactions ranging from wry to pointed. "He would have made more just leaving it in Samsung Electronics or SK hynix," one wrote. Others noted, "Not losing money puts him in the top tier," and "The real winner is the government, which pocketed 37 million won without doing a thing." One commenter quipped, "Now I understand why Kim Su-yong always looks so worn out."