Stock market turmoil spills into political dispute

The political fallout from recent stock market turmoil deepened Monday, as presidential chief of staff for policy Kim Yong-beom faced a criminal complaint over the rollout of single-stock leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

Lee Jong-bae, a former Seoul Metropolitan Council member of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), said he filed a criminal complaint with prosecutors against Kim, accusing him of abuse of authority, coercion and obstruction of business.

Lee alleged that Kim pressured financial regulators to approve the leveraged ETFs, arguing that the government encouraged excessive speculation in the stock market. "Had it not been for Kim's push, financial regulators would not have rushed to introduce single-stock leveraged ETFs ahead of the local elections despite the significant risks they posed," Lee said.

The complaint came as opposition parties stepped up pressure on the Lee Jae Myung administration over the controversial products tied to Samsung Electronics and SK hynix.

Unlike conventional leveraged ETFs that track broad market indexes such as KOSPI 200 or S&P 500,