What if you bought LG Chem, the '1-million-won stock,' at the 2021 battery peak?
In 2020-early 2021, K-battery and EV expectations plus ultra-low-rate liquidity made LG Chem a '1-million-won stock.' What would 10 million KRW invested at the 2021 closing peak (2021-02-05) have become? With real data — and without hiding the drawdown — we look at what happened to a growth stock bought at the top.
⚠️ Know the risk first
Before the assumed purchase date, concerns over the spin-off (LG Energy Solution), minority-shareholder backlash, and warnings of a 'liquidity rally' already existed. Later, a GM Bolt recall and the January 2022 listing of the battery subsidiary (a transfer of value) compounded, and the stock fell sharply from its peak and has not recovered for five years. Recovery cannot be asserted; only 'not recovered yet' is a fact.
⚠️ This asset is an individual stock chosen as of today, so past returns can look better than they really were (survivorship bias).
What happened that day
In 2020-early 2021, K-battery and EV expectations plus ultra-low-rate liquidity made LG Chem a '1-million-won stock.' 2021-02-05 is the 2021 closing peak that rally produced. Before the assumed purchase date, concerns over the spin-off (LG Energy Solution), minority-shareholder backlash, and warnings of a 'liquidity rally' already existed.
Why this date
By this project's price data, 2021-02-05 was LG Chem's 2021 'closing peak' (the all-time intraday high of 1.05 million KRW was on 1/14). It also coincided with peak risk appetite — Nasdaq record highs and a falling VIX. We use it as the assumed purchase date to show the real outcome of buying at the top.
Investment conditions
Asset · LG Chem (051910.KS) · lump-sum of 10 million KRW
Method · Lump-sum (all at once)
Period · 2021-02-05 ~ 2026-07-01
Amount · $7,407
As of · 2026-07-01
Before you see the result — what would you do?
At that peak, when it was called the '1-million-won stock' and everyone said it would rise further, if this stock was in your account?
Key metrics
These results do not reflect taxes. Based on historical data.
Buy and final prices are shown in the asset's local currency (US & crypto $, Japan ¥, Korea ₩). Total invested and final value are in Korean won (₩).
Risk & recovery
As important as returns. This service does not hide maximum drawdown or loss periods.
Maximum drawdown (MDD)
-81.4%
Largest drop from peak
Longest loss period
66months
Months in loss: 66
Recovery period
0months
Growth over time
Invested principal (dashed) and portfolio value (solid). Values below match the calculation.
Total invested $7,407 → Final value $2,126 (-71.3%), Maximum drawdown (MDD) -81.4%
Why this period and asset
Early 2021 was a period racing toward peak optimism. The Bank of Korea base rate was at a record-low 0.50%, and January CPI was up just +0.6% year over year — still a low-inflation regime. Overflowing liquidity flowed into stocks, and on 2021-01-25 the KOSPI passed 3,200 for the first time, with LG Chem — carrying battery and EV expectations — at the center. The phrase that symbolized this era was the '1-million-won stock' (an all-time intraday high of 1.05 million KRW on 2021-01-14), and the assumed purchase date of 2021-02-05 is the 2021 closing peak that rally produced.
Interpreting the result
Always check the cumulative return alongside the maximum drawdown and loss period below. Here, much of the decline came not from a market-wide crash but from a 'structural transfer of value' — the spin-off of LG Energy Solution. Investors bought expecting battery growth, but that battery business was separately listed and its value moved there. Moreover, this risk was already public before the purchase date.
Caveats & limits
'It always recovers eventually, so just hold' does not apply to this case — the actual result is a failure to recover the purchase price even after five years, and whether it recovers in the future is unknown. Figures use adjusted close and exclude trading fees and taxes — pre-tax (the adjusted close and the nominal price at the time may differ due to dividend and split adjustments). This piece does not judge a company as good or bad, and does not recommend buying or selling any security.
Market conditions on the purchase date
Macro indicators as of the assumed purchase date. Faded values are confirmed by a single source only and are for reference (not cross-checked by two sources).
Korea base rate
0.50
%. 2020-05-28 인하 후 유지. 코로나19 대응 사상 최저.
CPI (YoY)
0.60
% YoY. 매수일 기준 최신 발표치(1월 지표). 아직 인플레 본격화 전 저물가.
VIX (fear index)
21.77
당일 -4.98%. 나스닥 사상 최고(13,777.74) 등 위험선호 랠리 국면.
Dollar index (DXY)
Reference · single source약 91대
정확 일별 종가 2출처 교차 실패. 정황상 91.0~91.5 부근(확정 아님·참고용).
Headlines from that day
Actual headlines reported at the time. Tap a title to open the source.
- LG화학, 장중 105만원 터치하며 사상 최고가 경신 (2차전지·전기차 수혜 기대)
한국경제 · 2021-01-14
- 코스피 종가 첫 3,200선 돌파(3,208.99, +2.18%) — 초저금리 유동성 랠리
코스피 역사 기록/언론 종합 · 2021-01-25
- 미국 증시 랠리 — 나스닥 사상 최고 13,777.74, VIX 21.77로 하락
Yahoo Finance · 2021-02-05
- LG화학, 배터리 사업 물적분할 결정 — 'LG에너지솔루션' 신설(발표 직후 약 11.5% 급락)
디일렉/나무위키/보도 종합 · 2020-09
The mood back then
Early 2021 was a period racing toward peak optimism. The Bank of Korea base rate was at a record-low 0.50% per year (held since the 2020-05-28 cut) as a COVID-19 response, and Statistics Korea's CPI was up just +0.6% year over year as of January 2021 — still a low-inflation regime, a period awash in money before inflation took hold. Overflowing liquidity flowed into stocks, and on 2021-01-25 the KOSPI closed above 3,200 for the first time (3,208.99), with LG Chem — carrying K-battery and EV expectations — at the center. The phrase symbolizing this era was the '1-million-won stock': LG Chem hit an all-time intraday high of 1.05 million KRW on 2021-01-14. The assumed purchase date of 2021-02-05 is LG Chem's 2021 closing peak produced by that rally. The same day in the U.S., the Nasdaq set an all-time high (13,777.74) and the VIX fell to 21.77, so risk appetite was strong at home and abroad. That said, some saw at the time that this optimism leaned more on ultra-low rates and liquidity than on earnings — even the KOSPI 3,200 coverage cited 'overflowing liquidity' as the backdrop.
What people were thinking at the time
The headlines mixed euphoria and skepticism. On one side, hopeful forecasts like 'Will LG Chem really hit 1 million won?' (The Scoop); on the other, voices already wary of the valuation. Above all, the key point is that the core risk was public before the assumed purchase date (2021-02-05). In September 2020, LG Chem decided to spin off its battery business as a wholly owned subsidiary, 'LG Energy Solution,' and right after the announcement the stock fell about 11.5%, wiping out roughly 6 trillion KRW in market cap. Minority shareholders pushed back — 'if the core growth engine lists separately, the parent's value is diluted' — and a national petition (an 'LG Chem law') even appeared. In other words, it was a stock bought on 'battery growth' expectations, yet the fact that the battery was set to be split off from the parent was already known before the purchase date. Even so, the rally continued, and amid the optimism of 2021-02-05 this concern stayed behind the headlines.
What actually happened afterward
The actual path after the assumed purchase date was as follows. In August 2021, a further GM Chevrolet Bolt EV recall put battery-related concerns in focus, pressuring the stock. Around September 2021 it entered a zone more than 33% below the intraday high of 1.05 million KRW (per Hankyung's retrospective). In January 2022, the battery subsidiary LG Energy Solution — the core growth engine — listed on the KOSPI, with a first-day closing market cap of about 118 trillion KRW, instantly the second-largest in Korea. For the parent LG Chem, the feared 'transfer of value' became reality. Afterward, LG Chem's stock fell even below the level just before the spin-off decision (around the 600,000 KRW range), and its long slump continued; five years after the purchase, it has not recovered. For the exact maximum drawdown and loss period, see the calculation figures above.
What this record shows
This case shows, without minimizing, what happened to a 'growth stock bought at the top.' Two things stand out. First, much of the decline came not from a market-wide crash but from a 'structural transfer of value' — the spin-off. Investors bought expecting battery growth, but that battery business was separately listed and its value moved there. Second, this risk (the spin-off, minority-shareholder backlash, the 'liquidity rally' warning) was already public before the purchase date. 'It always recovers eventually, so just hold' does not apply here — the actual result is a failure to recover even after five years, and whether it recovers in the future is unknown. This record shows why it matters to look at the price at peak euphoria together with the risks already known beneath it.
Event fact sources
- Bank of Korea base-rate history (0.50% held since 2020-05-28): https://www.bok.or.kr/portal/singl/baseRate/list.do?dataSeCd=01&menuNo=200643
- Hankyung 2021-10-08 (all-time intraday high 1.05M KRW, 33% drop): https://www.hankyung.com/finance/article/2021100855936
- Yahoo Finance 2021-02-05 (Nasdaq record high, VIX 21.77): https://finance.yahoo.com/news/stock-market-news-feb-5-144802948.html
Requested date vs actual trading date
2021-02-05 was a normal trading Friday. The requested date and the actual fill date are the same.
Data sources & limits
- Price data source: Yahoo Finance / FinanceDataReader
- Collected on: 2026-08-03
- Effective trading date: 2026-07-01
- Price basis: Adjusted close (reflects dividends and stock splits)
- This asset is an individual stock chosen as of today, so past returns can look better than they really were (survivorship bias).
- Trading fees and taxes are not reflected — figures are pre-tax.
- Based on historical data; does not guarantee future returns.
Frequently asked questions
Why use February 5, 2021 as the purchase date?
By this service's price data, LG Chem's 2021 'closing peak' was 2021-02-05 (the all-time intraday high of 1.05 million KRW was on 1/14). It also coincided with peak risk appetite — Nasdaq record highs and a falling VIX. We chose it to honestly show 'what if you bought at the most euphoric top.'
Why did it fall so much?
Much of the decline came from the spin-off. In September 2020 the company decided to carve out its battery business as a wholly owned subsidiary, LG Energy Solution (the stock fell about 11.5% right after the announcement), and in January 2022 that subsidiary listed on the KOSPI, moving much of the growth engine's value to the subsidiary. This risk was public before the purchase date. See the maximum drawdown figure above for the exact drop.
Has it recovered now?
Not yet. On an adjusted-close basis, it has remained in a large loss versus the peak for five years. Whether it recovers in the future is unknown, and this page does not predict it.
Related scenarios
📋 Results are based on historical data; past returns do not guarantee future returns.
📋 This service is provided for educational purposes to help you understand investing, not as investment advice.
⚠️ Calculated using today's representative assets, which may differ from the market composition at the time.