[Sportschosun reporter Jo Min-jeong] Heewon Jung, a geriatric medicine specialist who helped fuel the "slow aging" craze, has taken a new direction by rolling out a series of content pieces on stocks and the economy.
Jung has recently been releasing back-to-back videos on economics and investing through his YouTube channel, "Jung Hee-won's Slow Aging." He drew attention by covering topics different from his usual health content, including "National Pension Service's record-high returns this year? Don't celebrate yet," "Are falling stocks an opportunity or a trap now?" and "Stagflation comes after a bubble."
In a recently released video, he also shared his views on the National Pension Service, policy authorities, political circles, and the media.
Jung argued that "the National Pension Service's continued practice of pushing up the stock market could, in the long run, trigger a severe economic downturn." He also said of political circles that they could "use public sentiment to turn the market into a gambling den." He went on to suggest that a rising stock market can help obscure other social issues. Turning to the media and the securities industry, he added that "analysts in the securities industry are, by the nature of their jobs, forced to issue optimistic forecasts, and the media also structurally finds it difficult to make bearish calls."
In his first investment video, Jung drew a line by saying, "I am not an investment expert." But in later videos, he introduced his own investment principles, including buying and selling in stages, asset rebalancing, and currency futures. He also said that he began investing around the time of the 2008 Global Financial Crisis (GFC) and that he bought Samsung Electronics and SK hynix in stages in October 2024.
Subscribers who had expected health-related content reacted with surprise to the abrupt shift. Online comments included, "This isn't slow aging, it's stock aging," "Isn't my account aging at high speed?" and "I thought the channel had changed." Some also speculated, "Was it hacked?" and "Did someone hand over the channel?"
Meanwhile, Jung filed a complaint last year against a researcher he had worked with, accusing the person of violating the Act on the Punishment of Stalking Crimes and other charges. The other side also filed a countercomplaint, accusing Jung of forcible molestation and false accusation, leading to a dispute over the facts. Prosecutors later decided not to indict Jung on the stalking allegations. The person Jung had accused was sent to prosecutors on charges of violating the stalking law and trespassing, and later received a deferred prosecution decision.
Jo Min-jeong mj.cho@sportschosun.com
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.
