[Itaewon Disaster] Amid the Great Tragedy... People Searching for 'Itaewon-Related Stocks'

On the 31st, a citizen is paying tribute to the victims at the memorial space for the 'Halloween crowd' crush accident victims set up in front of Exit 1 of Itaewon Station on Subway Line 6 in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Myunghwan Lee] "We pray for the souls lost in the Itaewon tragedy. Related stocks are expected to rise. Details will be disclosed the next day."

An internet community user, Mr. A, received a spam message in a stock trading chat room containing this content the day after the Itaewon tragedy occurred. This message, presumed to have been sent by a similar investment advisory firm to an unspecified number of people, urged entry into the chat room by suggesting that certain industries would benefit from the tragedy.

As the entire nation remains shocked by the tragedy that occurred on the 29th in Itaewon, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, stock trading chat room operators and related content creators are showing inappropriate behavior by recommending stocks related to the tragedy, causing public disapproval. There are criticisms that viewing this incident as a ‘material’ for the stock market while the accident recovery is still underway is inappropriate.

Photo by Online Community Capture

Posts recommending so-called ‘Itaewon-related stocks’ began appearing on the internet just hours after the accident occurred. Around 1:30 a.m. on the 30th, only about three hours after the accident, a stock expert who is active on YouTube and as an author posted an article titled ‘Itaewon Halloween Crowd Crush Accident Related Stocks’ on a portal site. The article was posted as a members-only paid content requiring a monthly fee. Although the article was deleted shortly afterward, traces of it still remain in online search engines.

The behavior of some ‘stock traders’ did not stop there. Some YouTubers created and uploaded videos themed around ‘Itaewon accident-related stocks.’ They justified their videos by saying, "If you trade stocks, you should relate everything to stocks."

Photo by Online Community Capture

The logic presented in such content is that if related laws are enacted due to this incident, certain industries might benefit, or that demand for some products will increase after the accident. However, most of their claims lack concrete evidence and are merely speculative.

Experts have pointed out that such behavior is highly inappropriate. They emphasize that exploiting a major tragedy with numerous casualties in the heart of Seoul, which has caused nationwide shock, for personal gain is unacceptable. Hwang Sewoon, Senior Research Fellow at the Korea Capital Market Institute, stated on the 31st, "It is very regrettable. Exploiting a national tragedy as a means to gain economic benefits is extremely inappropriate behavior." He added, "At a time when all resources and capabilities should be focused on mourning the victims and preventing recurrence, it is necessary to raise awareness about such actions."

Meanwhile, the securities industry is also joining the mourning atmosphere for this incident. The Korea Exchange canceled the unveiling event of the public campaign ‘Exhibition of Scammers’ Works to Prevent Illegal Investment Advisory Damage,’ originally scheduled to start on this day, in accordance with the designation of the national mourning period.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.