S. Korea to ease market bottleneck for retail stock investors

The Korean government on Tuesday reiterated vows to remove bottleneck problems faced by individual stock investors, according to the regulatory Financial Services Commission.

“The active participation of individual stock investors shored up the (domestic) stock market in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak,” said FSC Vice Chairman Sohn Byung-doo, in a financial risk management policy meeting held at the Korea Federation of Banks headquarters in central Seoul.

“(The government) will continue efforts to detect and alleviate the difficulties faced by individual investors throughout their securities transactions.”

The number of active stock trading accounts here came to 32.08 million as of end-June, up 9.3 percent from six months earlier, FSC data showed.

The key booster was the increased number of retail investors who flocked into the market, keeping the market volatility index relatively steady despite the outflow of foreign investors. The phenomenon was dubbed the “Donghak Ant Revolution,” in and analogy to the anti-foreign Donghak Peasant Revolution in the late 19th century. The term “ant” is used to describe retail investors for their lack of influence in the market.

“Due to the persisting COVID-19 situation, we continue to face uncertainties such as additional outbreaks and delayed economic recovery,” Sohn said.

“In order to respond to such volatility, the government will seek to create a sound investment environment for individual investors by strictly punishing unfair market transactions.”

The senior policymaker also vowed to revise the current listing procedures, in order to broaden the market access for early-stage businesses with growth potential.

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)