Study: S. Korean Stock Traders Seek Help for Gambling Addiction

 

A South Korean study shows a jump in the number of online stock traders seeking help for gambling¹ addiction².

The number rose 200 percent during a two-month period as COVID-19 restrictions³ and working-from-home gave South Koreans more time to trade stocks during the day.

Individual investors⁵ who buy stocks online are known locally as ants. These retail⁶ investors were partly responsible for a 50 percent increase in share prices after concerns about the coronavirus led to a sharp price drop in March.

Between the sell-off in March and May, a total of 214 people sought help for trading-related addictive⁷ behavior. That information comes from the Korea Center on Gambling Problems. It said that number was part of an overall 16 percent increase in callers seeking help for gambling.

The problem could be a sign of things to come if work-from-home requirements and social distancing become part of normal life, experts warn. Individuals living alone have even fewer ways to get support from friends to control addictive behavior.

Compulsive stock trading also lacks the social pressure that may act to keep people away from more traditional games of chance. However, experts note that the forces driving the two activities are similar.

South Korea has not enforced any stay-at-home measures, even when the virus was spreading quickly through the country in February and March. However, people and businesses have largely followed government guidelines. Many South Koreans have avoided social gatherings⁸ and are working from home.

One individual who sought help was a 35-year-old bank employee whose family name is Lee. He had been trading stocks online for over one year. He became an active trader after talking with a friend who claimed to have earned a lot of money buying and selling stocks.

Lee had some success as an online trader. Once he made a profit of several hundred thousand dollars on a single trade. But increased trading time because of Lee working from home resulted in him losing $1 million over five days.

Lee said his wife insisted that he seek help from an expert on gambling addiction.

"We tend to see an influx⁹ of people seeking help after a huge market dive," said Kim Yeon-su, a treatment manager at the Korea Center on Gambling Problems help center in Seoul.

The number of active investment accounts rose to 2.8 million from the middle of January through mid-July, compared to 1.6 million in the same period last year, records show. Most of these accounts were retail investors or day traders.

One example of the increased activity was the July listing of stock for SK Biopharmaceuticals. Each of the company's shares on offer for retail investors had 323 possible buyers. Their total down-payments, money offered for buying the stock, totaled about $26 billion. Reuters news agency notes that successful buyers saw their investment increase in value by 400 percent in four days.

Investor⁴ message boards on South Korea's main internet search engine have high traffic throughout trading hours. Usual posts include "I want to become a king ant" and "I was robbed today as usual."

Mental health experts said trading can become high-pressure gambling. They say there is little to hold back traders when they can trade easily online at home and often using credit.

Shin Young-chul is a mental health expert at Kangbuk Samsung Hospital. He said gambling pushes the brain because of immediate¹⁰, electrifying¹¹ results.

"Some of these people are buying, selling, buying, selling...Invest in stable things, wait three months - they don't do this," Shin said.

I'm Mario Ritter, Jr.

Words in This Story

gambling –n. games involving risking money for a chance to win more

addiction –n. a strong harmful need to regularly do or have something

retail –adj. related to the sale of goods to the public in relatively¹² small amounts

overall – adj. general

compulsive –adj. not being able to stop or control doing something

influx –n. the arrival of large numbers of people or things

account – n. a report or description of an event

stable –n. a state of being not easily changed, not gaining or losing value quickly

1 gambling   

n.赌博；投机

参考例句：

• They have won a lot of money through gambling.他们赌博赢了很多钱。
• The men have been gambling away all night.那些人赌了整整一夜。

2 addiction   

n.上瘾入迷，嗜好

参考例句：

• He stole money from his parents to feed his addiction.他从父母那儿偷钱以满足自己的嗜好。
• Areas of drug dealing are hellholes of addiction,poverty and murder.贩卖毒品的地区往往是吸毒上瘾、贫困和发生谋杀的地方。

3 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

4 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

5 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

6 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

7 addictive   

adj.(吸毒等)使成瘾的，成为习惯的

参考例句：

• The problem with video game is that they're addictive.电子游戏机的问题在于它们会使人上瘾。
• Cigarettes are highly addictive.香烟很容易使人上瘾。

8 gatherings   

聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集

参考例句：

• His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
• During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次，其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。

9 influx   

n.流入，注入

参考例句：

• The country simply cannot absorb this influx of refugees.这个国家实在不能接纳这么多涌入的难民。
• Textile workers favoured protection because they feared an influx of cheap cloth.纺织工人拥护贸易保护措施，因为他们担心涌入廉价纺织品。

10 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

11 electrifying   

v.使电气化( electrify的现在分词 )；使兴奋

参考例句：

• The dancers gave an electrifying performance. 舞蹈演员们的表演激动人心。
• The national orchestra gave an electrifying performance of classic music. 国家交响乐团举行了一次古典音乐的震撼性演出。 来自辞典例句

12 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。