New head of Korea Exchange named

Kyungsoo Choi has been appointed as the new chairman and CEO of the Korea Exchange.

Kyungsoo Choi has been appointed as the new chairman and CEO of the Korea Exchange (KRX).

Before taking this position at KRX, Choi was president and CEO of Hyundai Securities. Earlier in his career, he worked in the Ministry of Finance and served in a number of government roles, including a spell as president of the National Tax Tribunal.

His nomination was made at the shareholders’ meeting last week, and with the subsequent approval of the Korean government, he formally took office at the beginning of October.

In his first address, Choi named the facilitation of trading activities at KRX as one of his priorities.  He also highlighted the exchange’s international expansion strategies and the development opportunities in OTC clearing.

At the beginning of July, the Korea New Exchange (KONEX) was launched by the KRX, a new stock market designed to help raise equity funding for early stage and venture capital-style companies.

However, KRX’s 57 year share dealing monopoly in South Korea looks certain to end.

In late August, South Korea’s Financial Services Commission published its final proposals for legislation that would permit the creation of alternative trading systems (ATS).

However, the KRX will not be vanquished any time soon, as protections have been embedded. The trading volume of an ATS (during a six-month period) through a competitive bidding method will not be allowed to exceed 5% of the total trading volume of the KRX.

 

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