South Korean financial authorities face mounting criticism after retail margin debt climbed to 33.7 trillion won ($2.53 billion) during a week of violent swings on the Seoul stock exchange.

The benchmark Kospi tumbled through seven consecutive sessions before rebounding 2.05 percent to close at 5,668.05 on Friday, while retail cash reserves sank toward recent lows.

Financial Services Commission Chairman Lee Eog-weon convened an emergency review in Seoul with executives from the Financial Supervisory Service, the Korea Exchange, the Korea Capital Market Institute and the Korea Financial Investment Association. Officials reviewed risks tied to artificial intelligence semiconductor valuations, prospective United States interest rate increases and elevated crude oil prices.

Lee instructed brokerage houses to tighten their lending standards to curb speculative exposure during volatile trading cycles.

“Financial companies should refrain from extending credit indiscriminately and make every effort to protect customers and manage risks,” he said.

Outstanding margin loans have remained above 30 trillion won for an extended run, touching a three-month peak by Wednesday. Retail accounts expanded their borrowed exposure even as the Kospi breached the 6,000-point threshold and briefly threatened the 5,500-point mark.

Cash deposits held by retail investors dropped toward recent cyclical lows over the same period. The divergent metrics reveal that individual traders committed further to used bets rather than holding cash cushions during severe market sell-offs.

Volatilities spilled into tech equities across North Asia as market participants reassessed capital expenditure on AI infrastructure. 26 percent, tracking broader weakness in semiconductor components.

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