Presidential Office: "No Resumption of Short Selling... Director Lee Bok-hyun's Personal Wish"

Financial Supervisory Service Chief Calls June Restart a "Personal Hope"
"No Short Selling Resumption Until System Is Established"

Lee Bok-hyun, Governor of the Financial Supervisory Service. Photo by Yongjun Cho jun21@

The Presidential Office stated on the 22nd that regarding the resumption of short selling next month, "We will not resume short selling until a system that investors can trust is established."

Regarding Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) Chairman Lee Bok-hyun's recent comment about "partially resuming short selling in June," the office dismissed it as "a personal hope."

A senior official from the Presidential Office met with reporters at the Yongsan Presidential Office in the afternoon and said, "The government maintains a consistent stance on short selling," adding, "If the system is not in place, short selling will not be resumed."

Recently, Chairman Lee told reporters right after the 'Invest K-Finance' investment briefing (IR) held in New York, USA, "My personal desire or plan is to partially resume short selling in June."

He added, "Regarding the June resumption, even if there are technical or institutional shortcomings, it is necessary to communicate with the market that we are listening to stakeholders' opinions and pushing forward with resumption within a certain time frame."

As there has been no change in the Presidential Office's stance on lifting the short selling restrictions, Chairman Lee's mention of resuming short selling has raised concerns in the market about a possible 'discord' between the Presidential Office and the FSS.

In this regard, a Presidential Office official said, "The FSS Chairman's remarks are merely a personal hope expressed during the process of gathering stakeholders' opinions," and emphasized, "The government's position on short selling is clear."