His stock portfolio had gained about 300 million won, 200 thousand dollars, riding the artificial intelligence boom. His is one that says a lot about the “ants”, the small Korean investors, now faced with the biggest stock market collapse in 50 years. Why the South Korean stock market collapsedIn Seoul, panic gripped the markets. The nickname dates back to the stock boom of the late 1980s and only more recently has it come to symbolize massive popular participation in the Korean stock market. During an emergency meeting after the stock market crash, Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol and the supervisory leaders apologized for the too hasty authorization granted to leveraged instruments.