[Edaily Reporters Jeong Yun-ji and Kim Hyun-jae] “I was planning to raise funds for a jeonse deposit through stock investments, but whenever I look at my stock screen, I get so scared my hands start shaking.”

Young people who were swept up by “FOMO” (fear of missing out) amid this year’s sharp rise in the KOSPI and took on debt to invest are now struggling. This is because they were severely shaken by the recent correction in semiconductor stocks led by SamsungElectronics(005930)and SK hynix(000660).

In particular, young people who had intended to use these funds for wedding expenses or to cover the initial costs of becoming independent are facing the fear that their investment failures may make it difficult for them to recover financially. There have even been cases of military personnel using their military savings accounts as collateral for investments only to fail, raising concerns about a breakdown in military discipline. Experts warn that the failure of these young people’s debt-fueled investments could result in social costs.

According to data submitted by the Credit Recovery Committee to the office of Rep. Min Byung-deok of the National Assembly’s Political Affairs Committee on the 28th, the number of people in their 20s or younger who received principal reductions through individual debt restructuring reached 5,756 in the first half of this year (January–June), a 7.1% increase compared to the same period last year (5,372). During the same period, the number of people in their 30s also rose by 16.5%, from 9,427 to 10,983.

The scale of principal reductions has also grown. During the same period, the total principal reduction for those in their 20s and younger reached 61.558 billion won, a 12.8% increase from the previous year. For those in their 30s, the figure rose by 26.9% to 21.847 billion won. This indicates a sharp rise in the number of young people unable to repay their debts.

Kim Jeong-hoon (30), an office worker, also suffered a loss of 80 million won from investing with borrowed money. He is currently paying only the interest, let alone the principal. “I started investing because I didn’t think I could buy a house on my salary alone,” Kim confided. “I took out a loan thinking, ‘If I don’t get in now, won’t I miss this opportunity for the rest of my life?’ but the stress is overwhelming.”

The problem is that such issues can escalate beyond individual concerns to become a societal problem. According to the Korea Employment Information Service’s report, “In-Depth Analysis of the Labor Market Using the Employment Panel,” young people with debt are 70.1% more likely to end up in relatively unstable jobs than those without debt (66.6%). The research team diagnosed this phenomenon, stating, “The burden of debt forces them into a situation where they must take even unstable jobs.”

In other words, young people who have taken on debt through “debt-fueled investing” could become a potential source of social instability. Cho Dong-geun, Professor Emeritus of Economics at Myongji University, pointed out, “(Failure in debt-fueled investing) brings a sense of frustration that one has fallen behind not only in the stock market but in life as a whole, and ultimately, that burden becomes a cost borne by society as a whole.”