Kim, a 38-year-old office worker in Seoul, recently withdrew an additional 30 million won ($20,000) from his bank overdraft account to buy domestic semiconductor stocks after their prices fell sharply during market turmoil triggered by the Iran crisis. “With market volatility rising, I saw sharp pullbacks as buying opportunities,” he said. “Deposit rates are not attractive enough, so I increased my investment exposure using leverage.” Lee, a 45-year-old self-employed resident of Gyeonggi Province, also moved more than half of his 100 million won in maturing time deposits into a brokerage account. “Even if deposit rates rise a bit, it is hard to grow assets meaningfully through savings alone,” Lee said. “When the stock market swings sharply, I believe there are opportunities to buy in installments, so I increased my investment funds.” Investor appetite for leveraged bets is rising as geopolitical tensions increase in the Middle East, helping to push Korean stocks into swings exceeding 10 percent and amplifying market volatility. As of last Thursday, the outstanding balance