"I am the Economic President"... Lee-Yoon at the Exchange

Attended Stock Exchange Opening Ceremony as First Official Workday
Conscious Steps of 2030 and Donghak Ants
Wearing Red Ties Side by Side as if Promised

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 applauding. Photo by National Assembly Press Photographers Group

[Asia Economy Reporters Kum Boryeong, Lee Minwoo, Jeon Jinyoung] Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Yoon Seok-youl, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, chose to attend the Korea Exchange stock trading opening ceremony as their first official workday schedule of the new year. This move appears to be a response to the high interest in stock investment among young and middle-aged adults, including the 2030 generation, who have emerged as a casting vote in the presidential election. Both candidates attracted attention by wearing 'red neckties,' symbolizing their wish for a rising stock index, as if by agreement.

At the securities and derivatives market opening ceremony held on the 3rd at the Korea Exchange in Yeouido, Yeongdeungpo, Seoul, Candidate Lee stated, "It is necessary to rationalize regulations and build infrastructure so that companies can forge new paths through innovation and creativity." He emphasized, "For the capital market to grow and develop, it must be transparent, fair, and growth-oriented. Ultimately, creating a new industrial economic system requires rationalizing regulations and establishing robust infrastructure so that market companies can freely operate through innovation and creativity."

He also viewed restoring fairness in the capital market as an important task. Candidate Lee said, "The 10 million individual investors often feel alienated from the Korean market, and in severe cases, betrayed, leading them to seek other fair markets," adding, "It is very important to strictly punish unfair practices such as stock price manipulation and market rigging to enhance market trust."

Candidate Yoon pointed out problems in the current system and proposed improvements. He stated, "It is true that the political and economic systems lagging behind corporate performance are a major cause of the Korea discount," and argued, "We must continuously improve issues such as the opacity of corporate governance and the low reliability of accounting."

Along with this, Candidate Yoon said, "Funds for citizens' retirement, such as retirement pensions and personal pensions, should be invested in the capital market so that the people can fully enjoy the benefits, and related systems and tax benefits must be well organized," adding, "A foreign exchange system for the capital market should be established so that overseas investors can confidently make long-term investments." Like Candidate Lee, Candidate Yoon also emphasized fairness. He stated that criminal proceeds obtained through stock price manipulation must be thoroughly recovered and that offenders should be expelled from the financial market.

The two candidates' courting strategies toward individual investors have been active since last year. Around the 25th of last month, both candidates appeared on the investment-related YouTube channel 'Sampro TV' to express their views on the stock market. At that time, Candidate Lee emphasized, "KOSPI 5000 is not that difficult to achieve," and added, "If the undervaluation compared to advanced overseas countries is normalized, surpassing 4500 is easily possible." In the same broadcast interview, Candidate Yoon, who was perceived to have given somewhat vague answers, launched a campaign to soothe voters by presenting a pledge to modernize the capital market on the 27th of last month. He promised the complete abolition of securities transaction tax and proposed the introduction of a 'circuit breaker' that automatically bans short selling during excessive stock price declines as a measure to improve the short selling system, which is the top concern of individual investors.

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