South Korea's Stock Market Misses MSCI Developed Market Status for the 15th Consecutive Year

The South Korean stock market continued to be driven by AI chip leaders such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix on July 9, but MSCI has maintained South Korea's classification as an "emerging market" for the 15th consecutive year. The main reasons are restrictions on foreign capital access and insufficient opening of the offshore won market. South Korean regulators are concerned that loosening offshore won trading could lead to capital outflows and a plunge in the won similar to the 1997 financial crisis, which is why they have not fully relaxed foreign exchange controls. Although reforms such as the introduction of comprehensive custody accounts and extending the trading hours for the won have been implemented, won settlements are still limited to domestic transactions, and MSCI believes the level of market openness does not meet the standards of developed markets. Analysts predict that if South Korea successfully upgrades to MSCI developed market status, it could attract about $30 billion in passive fund inflows, but its weight in the developed market index would be only about 3%, lower than its approximately 24% share in the MSCI emerging market index, which may put pressure on small and mid-cap stocks. Analysts point out that the long-standing "Korea discount" issue needs to be addressed through structural reforms such as tax reform, enhancing shareholder returns, and improving corporate governance, rather than relying solely on market classification upgrades.