President Lee "A test of our will to reform the capital market... Firm goal of normalization"

“Mandatory public offer system requires many considerations… prompt expulsion of insolvent companies from the KOSDAQ market”

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Lim Hyeong-seop and Hwang Yoon-ki = President Lee Jae-myung said on the 13th, "Our government's will and policy on capital market reform has once again been put to the test. Normalization of the capital market is our government's firm policy direction, there is no doubt about it."

President Lee said this after visiting the Korea Exchange in Yeouido and holding a capital market policy meeting under the theme of 'A trusted capital market, asking questions and finding answers on the spot.'

It is interpreted as a schedule to highlight the government's unwavering commitment to reform in a situation where stock indexes have recently been on a downward trend and anxiety about the financial market is growing.

President Lee said, "It is clear that our companies' technological prowess, industrial competitiveness, and the basic capabilities of our people are world-class," and added, "It is sad and a very unreasonable abnormality that stocks are undervalued just because they are Korean companies or because they are listed on the Korean stock market. Normalizing abnormalities is a key task for our government."

In particular, he said, “The key keyword in the capital market is trust,” and “Doubts are spreading, such as whether (someone) will manipulate stock prices, whether the stocks I own will receive the right treatment, whether managers will treat shareholders fairly, and whether (capital) will be taken away due to strange duplicate listings.”

He continued, “There are concerns about whether the government’s policies are consistent and in line with the world’s development trends, and whether a shootout may break out at the cease-fire line and create another geopolitical crisis. The key is to eliminate these concerns and restore trust by creating a reasonably predictable market.”

At the same time, he said, "There are still many companies that are valued lower than their book value, and there are suspicions that they are being managed low by paying less taxes when they are forcibly inherited," and also mentioned the issue of the 'law to prevent stock price suppression'.

President Lee said, “We have been creating various systems to correct unfair trading practices or abuse of management rights by controlling shareholders,” and added, “We have also given separate instructions to the Financial Supervisory Service to strictly crack down on unfair practices in the financial market.”

At the same time, President Lee explained, "There is currently controversy over how to improve the mandatory public offer system. Fair opportunities must be given to minority shareholders, but we must simultaneously consider various factors to see if it will become an obstacle to mergers and acquisitions (M&A) if we make a mistake."

He also said, "Many people are also worried about KOSDAQ. We need to reform the KOSDAQ market and expand a stable investment base," and added, "Insolvent companies or low-performing companies should be promptly expelled by properly applying the delisting requirements."