Korea Financial Investment Association Holds Four Regular Sessions of the "K-Capital Market Forum"

The Korea Financial Investment Association's "K-Capital Market Forum," which was launched to establish a ten-year blueprint for the Korean capital market, has completed four months of key policy discussions and is accelerating efforts to develop a legislative and institutional reform roadmap to be submitted to the government and the National Assembly in the first half of next year.

On August 24, the Korea Financial Investment Association announced that the K-Capital Market Forum, launched in April, held a total of four regular forums from May to August to discuss medium- and long-term strategies for the sustainable growth of the capital market.

The K-Capital Market Forum, together with experts from various fields of the capital market, is identifying core tasks necessary for sustainable growth and discussing a medium- to long-term roadmap and strategies to establish a ten-year blueprint for the capital market’s future. In Forums 1 through 4, experts presented and deeply discussed key agenda items such as ▲expanding opportunities for individuals to manage their assets through Individual Savings Accounts (ISA) ▲strengthening the social function of trusts ▲improving pension systems to secure post-retirement income for citizens ▲enhancing both shareholder and corporate value.

The first forum (May) was held under the theme "National Asset Formation and Expanding Participation in the Capital Market through K-ISA," marking the 10th anniversary of the ISA’s introduction this year. Participants discussed strategies to further develop ISA as a national asset management platform, and opinions were raised that the ISA system should be designed from a long-term perspective to contribute to asset growth and retirement preparation throughout citizens’ entire lives.

The second forum (June) focused on "Customized Lifetime Asset Management and Supporting Intergenerational Asset Transfers." Discussions included ways to enhance accessibility to trusts for the public and plans to vitalize trusts in order to strengthen their roles in asset transfer and social guardianship. In addition, the forum addressed the need for intergenerational wealth transfer and comprehensive asset management in a super-aging society and generated consensus that utilizing the trust system can offer reasonable solutions.

The third forum (July) was centered around "Securing Retirement Income in a Super-Aged Society and Building a Robust Pension Safety Net." Discussions covered long-term and diversified investment strategies and measures to enhance the operational efficiency of sustainable retirement pension systems. Opinions were also presented on the need for harmonious growth between contract-type and fund-type systems, strengthening default option systems, and providing pension education for citizens.

The fourth forum (August) focused on "Restoring Trust in the Capital Market through Protecting Shareholder Rights and Enhancing Corporate Value." Participants discussed measures to strengthen shareholder rights and corporate competitiveness, the necessity of dispersing shareholders’ meetings to facilitate the exercise of shareholder rights, substantial inspections of the stewardship code's implementation, improving the minority shareholder protection system, and reinforcing investor compensation measures.

The forum plans to continue discussions on issues such as digital finance, productive finance, infrastructure modernization, and strengthening global competitiveness. A comprehensive policy report summarizing these discussions is scheduled to be submitted to the government and the National Assembly in the first half of next year.

Sungyeob Hwang, Chairman of the Korea Financial Investment Association and Chair of the K-Capital Market Forum, stated, “At the K-Capital Market Forum, we are discussing the role of the financial investment industry in restoring trust in the capital market, citizen asset management, and securing post-retirement income for the sake of the national economy. Our goal is to proactively prepare future strategies so that the development of the K-capital market can contribute to citizens’ lives and the national economy.”

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