Chairman Eunbo Jeong: "A New Chapter for the Capital Market... Making the Korea Premium the New Normal"

Eunbo Jeong, Chairman of the Korea Exchange, stated that the Korean capital market has entered a phase of reassessment in its journey to become an advanced market, and pledged to do his utmost to ensure that the "Korea Premium" becomes the "new normal."

In his opening speech at the "Korea Capital Market Conference 2025" held at the Westin Chosun Seoul on the 29th, Chairman Jeong commented on the recent record-breaking performance of the KOSPI, saying, "The valuation of Korea's capital market has been steadily improving, rewriting history," and added, "This is a result of the government's consistently implemented capital market policies and expectations for structural innovation in advanced key industries being reflected in the reassessment process."

Eunbo Jeong, Chairman of the Korea Exchange, is delivering the opening speech at the "Korea Capital Market Conference 2025" held at The Westin Chosun Seoul on the 29th. Photo by Jinyoung Kim

Chairman Jeong stated, "The KOSPI has recorded an overwhelming year-to-date increase among G20 stock indices," explaining, "This is due to the growing 'Buy Korea' sentiment among foreign investors, as well as the increase in idle funds waiting to be invested in equities."

He also promised the consistent implementation of exchange-level policies to enhance corporate value. Chairman Jeong declared, "We will ensure that corporate performance and long-term growth strategies are disclosed transparently and systematically," and pledged, "We will support the expansion of shareholder returns and the establishment of rational corporate governance."

He further stated, "We will create a market where general investors can invest with confidence," adding, "We will expand the role of IPO underwriters and increase the commitments for mandatory holding by institutional investors." He continued, "We will strengthen delisting requirements and streamline procedures to continuously improve the system for entry and exit of listed companies."

He also reaffirmed his commitment to eradicating stock price manipulation. Chairman Jeong said, "The Financial Services Commission, Financial Supervisory Service, and Korea Exchange will enhance the initial response capabilities of the joint task force to combat unfair trading," and emphasized, "We will not neglect efforts to advance the market surveillance system, including transitioning to an individual-based monitoring system and introducing a generative AI-based surveillance system."

Chairman Jeong further noted, "Global exchanges are striving to attract global investors by establishing 24-hour trading systems," and assessed, "The Korea Exchange has already begun night trading for derivatives, and discussions on extending stock trading hours should also be viewed from the perspective of global competitiveness. This will serve as a stepping stone toward a 24-hour trading system."

He added, "The spread of blockchain and stablecoins is challenging the capital market, and traditional finance is shifting toward decentralization," stating, "In response to these changes, the exchange will swiftly establish trading platforms for products such as virtual asset exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and tokenized securities (STOs)."

This conference, now in its second year, was organized to facilitate communication among domestic and international market participants for the advancement and global competitiveness of the Korean capital market. On the first day, the 29th, a special session commemorating the KOSPI's record high will discuss the significance of the new record and the vision and challenges for the KOSPI 5000 era.

On the 30th, the focus will shift to digital assets, sharing major overseas cases related to the introduction of tokenized securities (STOs) and virtual asset ETFs, and discussing ways to successfully introduce related new products to the Korean market. Throughout the event, various side events such as promotional booths for participating institutions, exchange-traded product (ETP) presentations, global institutional investor roundtables, and one-on-one investment meetings will be held to expand opportunities for communication among market participants.

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