Assemblyman Kim Hoe-jae, "KOSPI and KOSDAQ Market Capitalization in the Seoul Metropolitan Area Accounts for 86.2%, 110 Times That of Jeonnam"

KOSPI and KOSDAQ Market Capitalization: Only KRW 19.07 Trillion out of KRW 2,430.9547 Trillion in 2022 Located in Jeonnam

Gwangju and Sejong 0.2%, Gangwon 0.5%, Jeonbuk 0.7%, Jeonnam 0.8%... Market Capitalization Fails to Exceed 1%

Assemblym

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Heo Seon-sik] It has been revealed that the market capitalization of the KOSPI and stock markets in non-metropolitan areas, including Jeonnam region, is at a very low level. Concerns are growing over the acceleration of regional extinction as the economic agents driving regional economic growth decrease.

According to data submitted by the Korea Exchange to Kim Hoe-jae, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea (Yeosu-si Eul, Jeonnam), the average market capitalization of listed companies at the end of each month from January to July 2022 was 2,430.9547 trillion KRW, of which the market capitalization in the Jeonnam region was only 19.0721 trillion KRW. This accounts for only 0.8% of the national total.

Most of the stock market capitalization is concentrated in the metropolitan area. The metropolitan area accounts for 86.2% of the total market capitalization, with 43.9% concentrated in Seoul and 37.6% in Gyeonggi-do.

On the other hand, the proportion of average market capitalization of provincially listed companies by region does not exceed 2%. From January to July 2022, the stock market capitalization was maintained at around 1% in Jeju and Gyeongnam (1.7%), Chungbuk (1.6%), Gyeongbuk (1.5%), Daejeon (1.3%), Daegu, Ulsan, and Chungnam (1%), while Busan was 0.8%, Jeonbuk 0.7%, Gangwon 0.5%, and Gwangju and Sejong only 0.2%, showing very low levels.

The concentration of market capitalization in the metropolitan area continues to deepen. In 2019, the market capitalization of metropolitan listed companies was 1,407.1786 trillion KRW, accounting for 85.8% of the total. It rose by 0.67 percentage points to 86.5% in 2020, slightly dropped to 85.6% in 2021, but rose again to 86.2% by July 2022.

The share of non-metropolitan areas declined by 0.4 percentage points from 14.1% in 2019 to 13.7% in 2022. Jeonnam also decreased from 21.9127 trillion KRW to 2.8406 trillion KRW in 2022. Its proportion relative to the total also dropped by 0.5 percentage points to 0.8%.

Additionally, listed companies in Daejeon Metropolitan City decreased from 1.9% in 2019 to 1.3% in 2022, down by 0.6 percentage points; Gangwon dropped by 0.3 percentage points to 0.5%; and Gyeongbuk declined by 0.5 percentage points to 1.5%.

The average number of listed companies at the end of each month in the stock market also shows a concentration trend in the metropolitan area. In 2019, there were 569 KOSPI companies and 967 KOSDAQ companies in the metropolitan area, which increased by 27 and 166 companies respectively in 2022. The metropolitan area’s share of KOSPI companies rose by 0.9 percentage points to 72.8%, and the share of KOSDAQ listed companies increased by 2.7 percentage points compared to 2019, reaching 74%.

Assemblyman Kim Hoe-jae warned, “Despite continuous efforts for balanced development, the majority of private market funds are concentrated in metropolitan companies. If metropolitan concentration continues, regions will face difficulties in raising funds necessary for economic revitalization and will even lose their growth engines.”

He also emphasized, “To revitalize regional economies, it is necessary for large corporations concentrated in the metropolitan area to relocate to the regions. Through the enactment of the Regional Headquarters Act, we must achieve balanced development and create momentum for regional economic growth.”

Meanwhile, the monthly average market capitalization was calculated based on the end of each month, classifying companies listed on KOSPI and KOSDAQ by region.

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