Eokwon Lee: "Second Round of National Growth Fund to Launch... KOSPI 8,000 Breaks Open a New Chapter"

"KOSPI 8,000: Changes No One Imagined in the Past"
"Financial Institutions Must Change to Expand Productive and Inclusive Finance"

Eokwon Lee, Chairman of the Financial Services Commission, has announced plans to launch the second round of the National Participatory Growth Fund, which was recently sold out.

Eokwon Lee, Chairman of the Financial Services Commission

Chairman Lee appeared on the YouTube channel Sampro TV, with the episode released on May 30, and commented on the National Participatory Growth Fund, saying, "It allows the public to share in the achievements as they help foster future industries."

He explained, "As asset gaps can widen during a capital market upturn, the role of the National Participatory Growth Fund is crucial. We are preparing to launch the second round, and will comprehensively consider the size and timing of the offering."

The National Participatory Growth Fund has a total size of 600 billion won, more than four times larger than the New Deal Fund (140 billion won) launched under the Moon Jae-in administration. It enjoyed significant success, selling out in just five business days after sales began on May 22. A total of 30,258 people subscribed, raising 600 billion won, with the average subscription amount per person at 19.83 million won. During this process, Son Youngchae, head of the Financial Services Commission's National Growth Fund Task Force, even asked internal staff to refrain from subscribing so more members of the public could participate.

Chairman Lee recently evaluated the KOSPI index surpassing the 8,000 mark as a signal of structural transformation in the Korean capital market.

He stated, "One chapter has ended, and a new chapter has begun. Unimaginable changes have taken place, and market participants have gained trust and confidence, which is highly significant."

Addressing the reasons for the ongoing Korea Discount, he said, "When meeting with foreign investors, they have said that while the government has talked about improving corporate governance and enhancing shareholder value in the past, there have been no real behavioral changes." He further explained, "The government's determination and continued implementation—such as efforts to revise the Commercial Act, the resolve to eradicate unfair trading practices, and President Lee Jaemyung's visit to the Korea Exchange—have driven these changes in the capital market. Corporate performance has also supported this transformation."

For future tasks, he proposed building a world-class capital market. To this end, financial authorities are promoting market reform focused on four pillars: trust, shareholder protection, innovation, and improving market accessibility. As part of improving market accessibility, they are considering tax designs that incentivize long-term investment, reforms to the foreign exchange and securities market systems, and allowing overseas retail investors to invest in Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) and Exchange-Traded Notes (ETNs).

Regarding the outlook for stock prices, Chairman Lee said, "Perspectives on the Korean capital market are changing. If efforts and changes to improve market fundamentals continue, the capital market itself will become healthier and stronger, and the index will reflect these results."

Expanding productive and inclusive finance was also highlighted as a major task.

He said, "Since it will not be easy for household loans to increase in the future, that gap must be filled with corporate lending and global (expansion). At this inflection point where one chapter ends and another begins, the banking industry must also look far ahead and pursue long-term change."

He further emphasized the need to strengthen inclusive finance, noting, "Entry barriers in finance remain high, and if someone falls behind on payments even once, it is still difficult to recover." In particular, he argued for strengthening inclusive finance through a 'three-tier financial structure' in which institutional finance centered on banks, policy-based inclusive finance, and alternative recovery finance each play their respective roles.

Chairman Lee stressed, "While the government is pushing for productive and inclusive finance by relaxing capital regulations and establishing monitoring and evaluation systems, ultimately, financial institutions themselves need to change." He called for active participation from the financial sector.

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