Samsung Asset Management said on Monday net retail buying of the KODEX Kosdaq150 ETF totaled 595.2 billion won on Jan. 26.

It was the largest such daily figure in South Korea’s ETF market over the past 24 years. The amount far exceeded the previous record set by KODEX Leverage at 438.2 billion won, it said.

Daily turnover in KODEX Kosdaq150 also reached about 2.26 trillion won, it said. That was the biggest daily turnover on record among stock ETFs, including both domestic and overseas types.

KODEX Kosdaq150 Leverage, which tracks twice the daily return of the Kosdaq150 index, jumped 22.95 percent on the day. Net retail buying totaled 274.9 billion won on Jan. 26, the biggest since listing, it said.

While the KOSPI index rose 75.6 percent last year, the Kosdaq gained 36.5 percent, less than half that pace. In January, the KOSPI has risen 17.5 percent and the Kosdaq has gained 15.0 percent, and buying interest that had concentrated in large-cap KOSPI shares is being seen moving into the Kosdaq market.

Daehwan Lee (이대환), a manager at Samsung Asset Management, said, "Along with the Kosdaq reaching 1,000 points, KODEX Kosdaq150 also posted record net retail buying." He added, "Investor sentiment will gather even more in KODEX Kosdaq150 and KODEX Kosdaq150 Leverage going forward."