President Lee Jae-myung has launched a sweeping stock market transparency push just one week into his presidency. Already, he vowed on Wednesday to introduce incentives encouraging South Korean firms to pay higher dividends. He explained that dividends could support household incomes and fuel domestic consumption. Furthermore, he emphasized that stronger payouts would make the market more appealing than real estate. Ultimately, his administration views this effort as essential to economic growth.
Later that day, during a meeting with Korea Exchange employees, Lee compared South Korea’s dividend culture with global standards. In particular, he noted that South Korean firms lag behind countries like China in rewarding shareholders. Although he acknowledged multiple reasons for low payouts, he promised tax and policy reforms. Therefore, these changes would aim to boost equity attractiveness for ordinary citizens. Altogether, Lee framed this stock market transparency push as vital to long-term capital development.
Moreover, he also connected healthy stock markets to a stronger capitalist economy. According to Lee, robust oversight ensures fairness, stability, and investor confidence. As a result, he called for aggressive responses to market manipulation, insider trading, and other disruptive behaviors. Specifically, his government plans to crack down on such offenses using a “one strike, you’re out” rule. Undeniably, this marks a sharp shift in tone compared to previous administrations.
Later that day, Lee’s spokesperson, Kang Yu-jung, expanded on the president’s warning against unfair trading. She explained that the government would pursue financial penalties equal to any illegally gained profits. Consequently, the reforms aim to create a system where bad actors face real consequences. From now on, transparency and enforcement top the administration’s financial agenda. Clearly, this stock market transparency push has quickly become a central pillar of Lee’s presidency.
Meanwhile, the stock market responded positively to the president’s approach. The Kospi index climbed to 2,903.10 on Wednesday afternoon, its highest in over three years. Since his inauguration, it continued a rally that began immediately after Lee’s June 4 swearing-in. Notably, foreign investors bought heavily for the fifth straight day, signaling renewed confidence. Altogether, the stock market transparency push has already begun to reshape investor sentiment.
