'Coiners' Followed by 'Donghak Ants': Lee's Appeal to 2030 Investors Draws Attention

Attended 'Stock Market Development and Individual Investor Protection Meeting' at Korea Exchange on the 4th
Targeting 2030s, the main investors in virtual assets and stock markets
Focus on how to address MSCI inclusion and short selling issues

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] Following the Democratic Party of Korea's decision yesterday to push the 'one-year deferral plan for virtual asset taxation' as a party policy, on the 4th, presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung announced a pledge aimed at the development of the domestic stock market and protection of individual investors, consecutively seeking to capture the votes of 2030 investors.

While appeasing the angry younger generation due to real estate polarization, the party is interpreted to have begun full-fledged courting ahead of next year's presidential election by taking measures such as deregulation and market revitalization for financial assets like coins and stocks, which they are highly interested in.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

That afternoon, candidate Lee visited the Korea Exchange in Yeouido, Seoul, to attend a meeting for the development of the stock market and protection of individual investors. At this meeting, Lee is expected to reveal plans such as the re-promotion of inclusion in the MSCI (Morgan Stanley Capital International) Developed Markets Index and stock market stabilization measures including the highly demanded 'abolition of short selling' by domestic individual investors. He is also expected to comment on the issue of deferring virtual asset taxation, which the Democratic Party decided to pursue as party policy the day before.

Particularly, his stance on short selling, which individual investors are most interested in, is drawing attention. To be included in the MSCI, short selling must be fully resumed, but the Donghak Ants (retail investors) are demanding its 'abolition.' How these conflicting issues will be resolved is the key point.

At the Democratic Party primary debate last September, Lee said, "I was also a big retail investor," adding, "I lost almost everything during the IMF (International Monetary Fund) financial crisis while investing in stocks, but later recovered and succeeded quite well," raising expectations that he would reflect individual investors' voices in his policies as much as possible. However, on his Facebook page on the 2nd, he posted, "Inclusion in the MSCI Developed Markets Index has been stagnant for seven years; I, Lee Jae-myung, will make it happen," drawing attention to his remarks that day.

A representative from Lee's campaign said, "Since he also has experience in stock investment, he understands well the needs of stock investors," adding, "He will identify the problems of the domestic stock market and will announce related pledges in the future."

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