President Lee: "We Must Cultivate a Fertile Capital Market... Time to Boldly Change the Real Estate-Centric Structure"

"It's Like Surgery You Dread at First, but Realize Was Necessary in the End"

"We Must Consider How to Prevent the Abuse of Short Selling"

President Lee Jae-myung likened a series of capital market reforms implemented during his presidency to cultivating fertile soil, signaling his continued commitment to reforms aimed at achieving a "Korea Premium."

At the "Capital Market Stabilization and Normalization Meeting" held at the Blue House on the afternoon of the 18th, President Lee stated, "Right now, we've only removed a few big stones. To truly cultivate fertile land, we now need to remove mid-sized stones and even pebbles," he said, expressing his intentions.

President Lee Jae-myung is making closing remarks at the Capital Market Stabilization and Normalization meeting held at the Blue House on the 18th. Photo by Yonhap News

President Lee pointed out, "We are optimized for removing big stones, but when it comes to enhancing investor confidence, the details are in fact what matters. We need to regularly receive suggestions from those working in the field about these specifics."

One specific area for improvement mentioned was the short-selling system. President Lee said, "While the short-selling system is necessary, the issue is how to prevent its abuse," emphasizing, "We should identify what is lacking compared to exemplary short-selling systems in other countries and make corrections, or introduce new measures as needed."

He also addressed the resistance that accompanies reform efforts. President Lee remarked, "Reform through legislation is extremely difficult. The opposition party is against it, as are the media and corporations, because it causes immediate discomfort," recalling, "Even this time, when working on capital market reforms, there were many who claimed companies would go bankrupt or that foreign capital would flee." He continued, "Those same people are now saying, 'It's much better since the changes.' It's just like someone who resists surgery but, after having it, becomes healthy and thinks, 'That was a good decision.' Reform is the same issue."

Even after the event, President Lee stated on X (formerly Twitter), "As I always say, Korea's biggest challenge is the issue of livelihood, in other words, the economy. The reality that a significant portion of assets is concentrated in real estate has caused numerous side effects. Now is the time for bold structural change."

He continued, "The goal of a government based on national sovereignty is clear: to allow citizens to invest with stability, for companies to grow through innovation, and for the resulting achievements to be returned to the people in a virtuous cycle. Although our capital market has not been properly valued, known as the 'Korea Discount,' if we establish market transparency and fairness, this will certainly turn into a 'Korea Premium.'"

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