Korea Capital Market Institute Holds Seminar on "Capital Market Advancement"
On May 8, Kim Soyoung, Vice Chairman of the Financial Services Commission, stated that the Yoon Suk-yeol administration's "capital market advancement" policy is beginning to show some results, but emphasized that a long-term approach is still necessary to resolve the so-called "Korea Discount."
Vice Chairman Kim made these remarks during the "Achievements and Future Tasks of the Capital Market Advancement Policy" seminar hosted by the Korea Capital Market Institute at the Korea Exchange in Yeouido on the afternoon of May 8.
First, Vice Chairman Kim explained that the capital market has been promoted as a "ladder of coexistence and opportunity" for both the public and companies by pursuing more than 30 tasks across four main directions. He evaluated that, as a result, the capital market has minimized the impact of domestic and external crises and has shown strong resilience. He also noted that "the public's interest in and holdings of financial assets have increased, and companies' efforts to return value to shareholders have also expanded."
The financial authorities have abolished the foreign investor registration system and introduced alternative trading systems (ATS), thereby improving both the accessibility and efficiency of the capital market. In addition, they have promoted the establishment of shareholder value-oriented corporate management, the creation of a fair and transparent market order, and the strengthening of capital market innovation and capabilities. As of May 7, the number of companies participating in the corporate value-up program was tallied at 150. While this accounts for only 5.9% of the total number of companies, it represents approximately 50% of the KOSPI's market capitalization. Vice Chairman Kim also stated, "Companies participating in the value-up program have shown an average increase of 4.9% over the past year, outperforming the market average."
Furthermore, Vice Chairman Kim emphasized that, starting in the second half of the year, measures to strengthen disclosures for investors and to improve corporate governance regarding accounting and auditing will be fully implemented to prevent unfair trading. He also explained that, in terms of capital market innovation and capability enhancement, measures are being promoted to strengthen the competitiveness of securities firms in corporate finance, institutionalize token securities (STO) fractional investment platforms, and revitalize the trust business.
He said, "It appears that the capital market advancement policy and economic resilience are being positively evaluated in the global market, as seen in the inclusion in the World Government Bond Index advanced index." However, he added that there are limitations, such as the decline in potential growth rate due to demographic changes and the spread of risk aversion sentiment amid recent high uncertainty, which are constraining achievements.
In particular, Vice Chairman Kim stressed, "In order to completely resolve the Korea Discount phenomenon and to truly enter the ranks of advanced capital markets, it is necessary to further solidify the efforts made so far to advance the capital market, and to pursue concrete methods with broad public consensus and a long-term perspective." This remark is interpreted as reflecting concerns in some parts of the market that policy uncertainty could increase with the presidential election and the launch of a new government in June.
Kang Sohyun, Director of the Capital Market Division at the Korea Capital Market Institute, who gave the keynote presentation, also assessed that the effects of the capital market advancement policy are gradually becoming visible. He argued that continued institutional improvements are necessary to restore market confidence and revitalize investment going forward. He suggested that, to proactively respond to the structural changes in the domestic capital market, qualitative growth of the listed market and the advancement of a multi-market system are needed.
Kim Yuseong, Professor at Yonsei University Law School, who presented on "Unfair Trading Regulation Improvements and Future Tasks," reviewed achievements such as the introduction of the three major unfair trading penalty systems, the legalization of the calculation method for unjust enrichment, new sanction measures for unfair trading, the pre-disclosure system for insider trading, and improvements to the short selling system. As future tasks, he proposed the need for swift and strict sanctions to prevent unfair trading, and for improvements to the investigation system for unfair trading in consideration of the capital market's growth rate.
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