Presidential Candidates Aware of 10 Million Donghak Ants... Attend Korea's Stock Market Opening Ceremony for the First Time in History

Yoon Seok-yeol and Lee Jae-myung Both Attend Opening Ceremony of Korean Stock Market
First Time Leading Presidential Candidates Attend Together
Emphasis on 'KOSPI 5000' and 'The First Year of Capital Market Advancement'

The 2022 Securities and Derivatives Market Opening Ceremony was held on the 3rd at the Korea Exchange Seoul Headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul. Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, and Yoon Seok-youl, the People Power Party presidential candidate, who attended the event, are taking a commemorative photo. Photo by the National Assembly Press Photographers Group

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] Leading presidential candidates attended the opening ceremony of South Korea's stock market for the first time. This move is interpreted as an effort to appeal to the voting intentions of the 10 million individual investors.

On the morning of January 3rd, the first working day of the new year, Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, and Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, attended the "Securities and Derivatives Market Opening Ceremony and Stock Market Festival" held at the Korea Exchange in Yeouido, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. This is seen as a courting move toward the 10 million individual investors known as "Donghak Ants." It is based on the judgment that the majority of young and middle-aged voters, who are expected to determine the direction of the presidential election, are participating in the stock market. This is the first time that all leading presidential candidates have attended a domestic stock market opening event.

At the event, candidate Lee stated, "I hope to realize a grand journey toward creating a new industrial economic system to secure growth potential, strictly punishing unfair practices such as stock price manipulation to enhance market trust, and moving beyond the KOSPI 4000 era to the 5000-point era." Following this, candidate Yoon emphasized, "The political and economic system lagging behind corporate performance is the main cause of Korea Discount," adding, "I hope this year will be the first year of capital market advancement, with the government actively supporting the activation of mergers and acquisitions between companies, ensuring that major shareholders and management do not enjoy excessive premiums or benefits, and that the rights of minority shareholders are not neglected."

Previously, since last year, both candidates have been steadily courting individual investors. Around the 25th of last month, both candidates appeared on the famous economic and investment-related YouTube channel "Sampro TV" to express their positions on the stock market. At that time, candidate Lee emphasized, "KOSPI 5000 is not that difficult," and added, "If only the undervaluation compared to advanced overseas countries is normalized, surpassing 4500 points is easily achievable." He also promised strict punishment for unfair trading to protect minority shareholders.

In the same broadcast interview, candidate Yoon, who was evaluated to have given somewhat vague answers, sought to appease voters by presenting a pledge to advance the capital market on the 27th of last month. He promised the complete abolition of the securities transaction tax and proposed the introduction of a "circuit breaker" that automatically bans short selling during excessive stock price declines as an improvement measure for the short selling system, which is the greatest concern of individual investors.

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