The matter is expected to be discussed Thursday at a meeting of South Korea's four main economic and financial authorities, commonly known as the F4, as regulators consider stronger protection for investors.
The F4 brings together the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Bank of Korea, the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service.
Lee raised the issue during a joint government policy briefing at Cheong Wa Dae, asking Financial Supervisory Service governor Lee Chan-jin about the controversy involving single-stock leveraged ETFs. The governor admitted the regulator's responsibility as a market supervisor.
Lee then turned to Korea Exchange chairman Jeong Eun-bo and asked officials to prepare supplementary measures without delay.
"Please swiftly draw up the necessary measures," Lee said, stressing that normalizing and strengthening the capital market remains his key policy priority.
Single-stock leveraged ETFs, launched in the domestic market on May 27, amplified the daily price swings of individual stocks including those of the country's two biggest chipmakers.
Their launch has sparked debate over whether heavy trading in these funds could make swings in the underlying stocks, related derivatives, and the broader market even bigger.
Five of the 13 circuit breakers activated across the KOSPI and junior KOSDAQ since 2000 have also occurred since May 27.
The figures show that the launch of these products coincided with a period of unusually sharp market moves, but do not by themselves establish that the ETFs directly caused the trading halts.
Authorities are expected to examine the funds' trading structure, liquidity management, their interaction with spot and derivatives markets and the risk of losses among individual investors.
Kim Yong-beom, Lee's chief policy secretary, said last week that the government would closely review the products' market impact at the next F4 meeting and decide whether additional measures were needed.
The FSS chief has previously expressed regret over the products' introduction, saying last month that the regulator should perhaps have taken stronger action before accepting their securities registration statements.
The Financial Services Commission also held a closed-door meeting Tuesday with major brokerages and asset management companies to discuss potential safeguards.
Financial firms, meanwhile, agreed this week to strengthen risk warnings tailored to investors' ages and portfolios, improve mandatory education for leveraged-product trading and consider raising minimum deposit requirements to curb excessive investment.
The government's measures are likely to focus on tighter entry requirements, clearer risk disclosures and stronger liquidity and operational controls, with the broad direction expected to emerge after Thursday's F4 meeting.
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