The government will closely monitor potential increases in market volatility given the likelihood of herd behavior on the part of investors as seen in the GameStop frenzy in the U.S.

First Vice Finance Minister Kim Yong-beom said Tuesday that herd behavior as witnessed with GameStop could frequently occur in a digitalized trading environment where multiple market participants can easily access information.

He made the remark in a meeting discussing the macroeconomic situation.

In South Korea, retail stock investors with limited leverage are demanding an outright ban on short selling, claiming that such tactics tend to give an edge to offshore and institutional investors. 

Short selling is a trading technique in which investors sell stocks they borrowed on the belief that share prices will fall in the near future.
 
The more stock prices fall, the more profit they earn.

Global stock markets recently underwent intense fluctuations after retail investors snapped up shares of U.S. video game vendor GameStop, on which hedge funds took heavy short positions.