South Korea's financial market regulator issued an investor warning on Thursday, cautioning about the risks associated with recently launched leveraged investment products tied to individual stocks. The Korean market's recent rally has been led by chip stocks, which have outperformed global peers.

The Federal Signal (FSS) stated in a release that recent increases in stock market volatility have led to situations where leveraged or inverse products linked to single stocks have experienced sharp price swings over short periods. Consequently, the FSS is issuing a consumer alert to remind retail investors of the risks and urge them to make investment decisions carefully.

Last month, Korean securities firms received regulatory approval to launch leveraged investment products linked to Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and SK Hynix Inc. The share prices of these two chipmakers had already seen substantial gains prior to this.

So far this year, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) has risen by 111%. Within this, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have surged by 190% and 300% respectively. These two semiconductor manufacturers collectively account for more than 50% of the index's market capitalization.