2025 Economic Sector Major Issues Solution Meeting

This year, the market for trading various capital market investment products such as listed and unlisted stocks, derivatives, and Token Securities (ST) in Korea is expected to become more diverse than before.

The Financial Services Commission will diversify the domestic investment product distribution platform within the year. In March, the Alternative Trading System (ATS), a multilateral trading facility for listed stocks, will be launched. Once ATS is operational, investors can choose between the Korea Exchange (KRX) and ATS to execute their stock orders. This will break the monopoly of the Korea Exchange on securities trading that has lasted for over 70 years since 1956.

The financial authorities plan to allow over 800 highly liquid KOSPI and KOSDAQ stocks to be traded through ATS. The trading hours of ATS will be from 8 AM to 8 PM, which is 5 hours and 30 minutes longer than the existing KRX. The authorities believe that the introduction of a multiple exchange system could lead to lower transaction fees due to competition between exchanges.

In June, the domestic night market for derivatives will be launched. The existing night derivatives market is not a domestic market but is structured to trade in conjunction with the European derivatives exchange EUREX. The government plans to introduce a domestic system with the same structure as the existing system in cooperation with the Korea Exchange.

This night market will support the trading of 10 products for a total of 12 hours from 6 PM to 6 AM the next day. The existing market supports the trading of 5 products for 11 hours. The Financial Services Commission has been promoting the opening of the night market by advancing the opening of the derivatives market by 15 minutes (8:45 AM) since July 31, 2023.

Various capital market investment product-related markets and systems, which are still operated as sandboxes, will also be formally institutionalized. Token Securities (ST) and unlisted stock and fractional investment trading platforms will each be formally institutionalized. ST is a security issued in token form using blockchain technology. Various rights such as intellectual property (IP) and artworks can be tokenized and traded. A fractional investment platform that allows multiple people to invest in specific assets by formally issuing non-monetary trust beneficiary securities will also be institutionalized.

The Financial Services Commission has been promoting the institutionalization of ST and fractional investment platforms since 2023. Although related law amendments have been submitted to the National Assembly, they have not been prioritized for discussion. The Financial Services Commission extended the period for revising related laws for unlisted stock trading platforms by 6 months in September last year.

“The sandbox for token securities and fractional investment platforms will expire in June, and the sandbox for unlisted stock platforms will expire in September,” said Kwon Dae-young, Secretary-General of the Financial Services Commission, adding, “We will proceed with the institutionalization process considering this.”

The Business Development Company (BDC) will also be introduced. BDC refers to a listed public fund that invests in unlisted venture and innovative companies. The authorities expect that funding for small and venture companies will become more convenient through ST, BDC, and fractional investment.