President Lee Jae-myung is giving remarks at the launch ceremony of the 'Committee of Light' held at the Yeongbingwan (State Guest House) of the Presidential Office on the 17th. [Yonhap News file photo]

On the 19th, the People Power Party (PPP) called for the resignation of Kim Yong-beom, the Presidential Policy Chief, accusing him of offering sophistry to rationalize his responsibilities rather than apologizing for the single-stock leverage exchange-traded fund (ETF) crisis, which has been identified as a primary cause of recent extreme stock market volatility.

Within the People Power Party, there are also growing calls for a parliamentary investigation into the crisis.

Representative Park Soo-young stated in a Facebook post, "The Lee Jae-myung administration pushed for the launch of 'Sam-Jeon-Nix' (Samsung Electronics + SK Hynix) single-stock products to artificially boost the stock market ahead of the local elections, and as a result, the stock market fluctuated like a casino." He added, "In July alone, over 7 trillion won flowed into these Sam-Jeon-Nix single-stock ETFs. Returns were nearly halved, and retail investors were left in tears."

He continued, "Chief Kim, who spearheaded the launch of these products, appeared on a broadcast today and claimed that 'side effects will be resolved now that supplementary measures have been introduced,' but there was no apology for the policy failure." He argued, "We must uncover through a parliamentary investigation whether this was driven by a calculation that 'winning the June 3 local elections is all that matters, regardless of the consequences,' while ignoring market demand and turning South Korea into a gambling arena."

Representative Na Kyung-won also wrote on Facebook, "The gambling-like leverage ETF is a catastrophe that has inflicted massive losses on the retirement funds of the elderly, the seed money of young people, and the investments of 14 million retail investors; yet, there is no accountability or apology for this policy failure." She added, "Chief Kim must take responsibility for the leverage crisis he caused, address the fallout, and resign immediately."

She further argued, "The reckless introduction of leverage ETFs and the forces behind the resulting public damage must be uncovered through an independent counsel investigation. There must be a thorough probe into why the introduction schedule, originally planned for the second half of this year, was moved up to the first half, and whether there was any intervention by public funds, such as the National Pension Service, in that process."

Former Representative Yoo Seong-min also took to Facebook to demand a parliamentary investigation, stating, "In a market where two companies—Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix—account for over 50% of the total market capitalization, we must hold those responsible for introducing high-risk leverage products that cannot even be called ETFs, and for what purpose they created this mess."

Meanwhile, the People Power Party launched an offensive regarding President Lee Jae-myung's pending sale of his apartment in Bundang, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, stating, "President Lee is set to make a profit of approximately 2.5 billion won after listing his Bundang apartment, which he purchased for about 300 million won in 1998, for 2.9 billion won." They added, "The public is turning its back on an attitude that lectures the people about taxes while personally pocketing such a profit."

In a commentary, Senior Spokesperson Kim Tae-kyu criticized the President, who had spoken about raising holding taxes while claiming to "not own a home," by saying, "The moment he cashes in a profit on his own home and walks away with ease, he tells the people that he will place more taxes on their homes."

Spokesperson Ham In-kyung also commented, "Currently in South Korea, buyers must secure massive amounts of cash due to loan regulations, and if there is a tenant, they must also resolve the issue of returning the deposit. For homes awaiting reconstruction, there are also restrictions on the transfer of membership status." She questioned, "How did the President manage to find a buyer and complete the sale in such a tight window?"

She added, "For a President residing in the official residence, being 'homeless' might be the end of the selling process, but for the public, that moment is the beginning of the reality of wondering, 'Where am I supposed to live now?'"