Bargain hunters jumping into stocks to take advantage of the sharp downturn in the market drove the number of active stock trading accounts to a record high level in the past week, the Korea Financial Investment Association said Monday. 

A total of 122,786 trade accounts have been created this month alone, making the number of active accounts 18,614,786 as of Friday. The agency attributed the surge to the dramatic price drop in blue chips which investors saw as an opportunity to grab quick profit when they bounce back fast like they did during 2008 global recession. An account is considered as active if it has balance of at least 100,000 won ($91.7) and has made at least one transaction in the past six months.

“The KOSPI is seen as a more volatile index than others but a lot of people perceive the plunge as an opportunity,” Lee Jong-woo, head of research at Solomon Investment & Securities said.

The KOSPI fell nearly 20 percent in the past three weeks, making Seoul one of the most vulnerable market places to downturns in the U.S. and Europe. The KOSPI extended the biggest retreat since end-2009 on Monday, losing another 1.96 percent to 1,710.70.

The jump made in August makes 76 percent of the working population traders, excluding those who own more than one account.

Kiwoom Securities, the largest online broker in the country, opened 820 new accounts per day on average in May, 700 in June, 880 in July. The number grew to 1,800 for August as of Thursday.

“We receive a lot of inquires about ways to reactivate trade accounts from years ago. A lot of risk averse investors are coming back to the stock market,” an official at a local brokerage said.

By Cynthia J. Kim (cynthiak@heraldcorp.com)