Son Byung-duo, New Chairman of Korea Exchange, Inaugural Message: "Haehyeon Gyeongjang"

"Let's Change the Geomungo Strings"

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] Son Byung-doo, the new chairman of the Korea Exchange (KRX), who will lead the era of KOSPI 3000 and KOSDAQ 1000, officially began his duties on the 21st.

Tasked with pioneering a path never before taken by the domestic stock market and protecting the rapidly increasing number of individual investors, Chairman Son introduced the theme of Haehyeon-gyeongjang, meaning "retuning the strings of the geomungo," on the day of his inauguration.

Despite controversy over the so-called "Gwanpia" (bureaucrat + mafia) until just before his appointment, Chairman Son demonstrated his presence as an economic and financial expert by clearly outlining the future direction of the exchange from day one of the "Son Byung-doo administration," emphasizing, "We will consider what the exchange must prepare amid the waves of change."

According to the Korea Exchange, Chairman Son will serve a three-year term until December 20, 2023. Starting his public service career by passing the 33rd Administrative Examination, he is recognized as a financial policy expert, having held various positions including Director of the Foreign Currency Fund Division at the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, Director of the Financial Services Bureau and Financial Policy Bureau at the Financial Services Commission, Chairman of the Securities and Futures Commission, and Vice Chairman of the Financial Services Commission. With the KOSPI reaching record highs daily this year and individual participation in the stock market becoming more active, strengthening market soundness and protecting investors are among the key challenges Chairman Son must address.

At his inauguration ceremony, Chairman Son stated, "With the expansion of individual market participation, calls for creating a fair market environment are growing louder, and we are also facing a competitive environment where we must directly compete with global exchanges due to the overseas stock investment boom by major pension funds and individuals." He emphasized, "In this changing environment, the exchange must act as a responsible guardian protecting the market, a partner communicating with the market, and a challenger unafraid of innovation."

He also clearly presented the operational direction of the exchange to effectively respond to these environmental changes.

Chairman Son said, "Supporting corporate innovation and challenges and supplying the driving force necessary for economic growth is the exchange's top priority," adding, "We will nurture future growth engines through the capital market." To this end, he specified plans to expand customized corporate support programs such as half-price shared offices and listing consulting, and to establish a securities analysis center for small and medium innovative companies that have been in information blind spots to resolve information asymmetry. He also announced plans to strengthen the function of KONEX to provide a stepping stone for early-stage innovative companies to grow, and to reform the KOSDAQ market system to enable excellent technology companies to be listed.

Regarding the government's 'Green New Deal Policy,' which will be in full swing next year, he emphasized expanding K-New Deal-related exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and derivatives, and revitalizing social responsibility investment (SRI) bonds and the emissions trading market to establish a foundation for the success of the Korean New Deal.

He also addressed concerns about protecting the surge of individual investors this year. Chairman Son said, "We will strengthen market surveillance activities in vulnerable areas such as no-capital mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and new thematic stocks to establish an efficient market surveillance system capable of early blocking any form of unfair trading." Regarding the short-selling system, which will resume in March next year, he stated, "We will improve it to meet market expectations."

Furthermore, to create a world-class exchange investment environment, he proposed improvements to the IT system, the establishment of a proprietary night derivatives market to alleviate inconveniences in night trading, and the construction of an independent disaster recovery (DR) center for stable market operation in emergencies.

Chairman Son concluded, "Recent changes in the financial market environment have made it impossible to exclude the emergence of not only black swans but also neon swans," adding, "We will embrace innovation and challenges with an open mind to turn crises into opportunities."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.