Korean Securities Association Holds Special Symposium on Alternative Trading Systems: "Need to Ease 15% Rule"

The Korean Securities Association (President Jeon Jingyu) held a special symposium on November 27 at the Yeouido Financial Investment Center under the theme "The Launch of Alternative Trading Systems and the Achievements and Challenges of Multiple Markets." The symposium provided an objective analysis of the impact that NextTrade (NXT), Korea's first alternative trading system (ATS) launched in March, has had on the Korean stock market, and included in-depth discussions on the establishment and future development of a multiple market system.

Professor Kim Daejin of Sungkyunkwan University Business School, who delivered the keynote presentation, explained, "Contrary to concerns that the launch of NextTrade and the introduction of multiple markets would disperse liquidity, both markets have shown stable liquidity indicators." He added, "There has been a significant improvement in order depth, and the NXT market has contributed to enhancing price discovery functions, especially for low-liquidity stocks."

He also noted that since most orders are executed via Smart Order Routing (SOR) and are subject to maker fees when using limit orders, this has had the effect of reducing transaction costs for stock investors.

As for future improvements, Professor Kim highlighted the need to ease the 'market share restriction regulation (15%)', pointing out that the current 15% rule, which can lead to trading suspensions for certain stocks, poses a significant risk to overall market liquidity and the stability of investor transactions.

Following the keynote, a panel discussion was held with participants from the Financial Services Commission, academia, the Korea Financial Investment Association, and securities industry analysts, who exchanged a wide range of opinions on the development of alternative trading systems and multiple markets. The symposium was attended by over 200 capital market professionals, including employees from securities firms and related companies, making it a well-attended event.

In his opening remarks, Jeon Jingyu, President of the Korean Securities Association, stated, "With the launch of NextTrade, our capital market has begun a full-fledged transition from a single exchange system, which had been maintained for nearly 70 years, to a multiple market system. This is an important institutional advancement that will promote competition in trading infrastructure, expand choices for market participants, and ultimately enhance the efficiency of the capital market and investor welfare."

Seo Yuseok, Chairman of the Korea Financial Investment Association, said in his congratulatory address, "The launch of the alternative trading system goes beyond the simple introduction of a new system. It is creating a virtuous cycle of trading activation through competition between markets and contributing to the rise of the KOSPI index above 4,000. To ensure the stable establishment of a multiple market system, rational revisions to market share regulations are necessary."

In the final congratulatory address, Kim Haksoo, CEO of NextTrade, said, "With the launch of NextTrade, a competitive trading market system has been established, allowing us to deliver greater value to investors. We will further strengthen the innovation and stability of our platform operations, while also introducing new and differentiated services such as exchange-traded funds (ETFs), fractional investments, and security token offerings (STOs)."

NextTrade announced that, based on the discussions at the symposium, it will actively prepare to further contribute to the development of multiple trading markets in the future.

Yonhap News Agency

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