Broadcaster Jo Hye-ryeon. [Herald POP (now Herald Muse) provided]
Broadcaster Jo Hye-ryeon. [Herald POP (now Herald Muse) provided]

Broadcaster Jo Hye-ryeon has revealed that she first bought SK hynix shares at 870,000 won ($655) per share, then kept buying as the price surged — only to see her gains sharply eroded after she loaded up near the peak.

On Tuesday, Jo appeared alongside fellow broadcaster Seo Dong-ju on the YouTube channel "Money in the Trap" and shared her stock investment experience. "I first got into Hynix at 870,000 won," she said. "But I kept buying more along the way."

Jo recalled the excitement of watching the share price climb. "When it was going to 250, 260, 270, people were saying it would hit 400. My heart was pounding like crazy," she said. "I bought in low and it was going up, but then I bought more at the higher price and it came back down. What was supposed to be a smart averaging-down turned into a frustrating one."

"Honestly, I'm not in the red yet," she said, "but I'm not that far in the green either. I bought a little when it was cheap and a lot when it was high."

When Seo said, "Still, you showed some restraint," Jo replied, "I didn't have the money — when I wanted to buy more." She then added, "I'm glad I didn't have the money," drawing laughter.

Asked whether she had also bought Hynix shares in the 2.8 million won range, Seo said, "I've bought it several times, and yes, I bought some there too."

Jo said she thinks of SK hynix every time she drives on the highway. "The Hynix building is right there on the left. You have no idea how much I cheer it on when I'm heading down to Busan," she said.

She added that she plans to set the stock aside and stop checking it for now. "As long as South Korea exists and keeps developing like this, the future is bright," she said.

Jo also reflected on changing attitudes toward stock investing. "In the old days, if you said you were investing in stocks, elders would treat it like gambling," she said. "But blue-chip stocks are a good thing. They drive the country's growth and give you financial returns too."

She cautioned, however, that the biggest risk is taking out loans to invest in stocks. "Use your spare money," she said.

Jo's SK hynix investment had drawn attention once before. In June, on the YouTube channel "Rolling Thunder's" program "New Women," comedian Shin Gi-ru mentioned buying Hynix shares at 1.46 million won, prompting Jo to reveal, "I got in at 870,000 won" — a disclosure that stunned the rest of the cast.


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