Jeong Cheong-rae asks what critics of President Lee’s ‘KOSPI 5,000’ pledge look like now

According to Financial News, Jeong Cheong-rae of the Democratic Party of Korea remarked, "When President Lee Jae-myung, back when he was a presidential candidate, talked about the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) reaching 5,000, there were people who sneered and mocked him. I would like to hear just one word from them now about what expressions they have on their faces and what they are thinking."
Attending a full meeting of the "Korea Premium K-Capital Market Special Committee" at the National Assembly on the 3rd, Jeong said, "I sincerely hope that KOSPI 6,000, 7,000, 8,000, 9,000, even 10,000 will not remain a dream but become reality."
Jeong continued, "We have opened the long-dreamed-of era of KOSPI 5,000. This is a first in the history of the Korean stock market and a great victory," adding, "Once we brought the chaos of the insurrection under control and stabilized state affairs, the market responded. As tensions between the two Koreas eased and the fear of war disappeared, capital that had fled began to return."
He went on, "Now we must move beyond the era of Korea risk and the Korea discount and usher in an era of Korea Premium," pledging, "The Democratic Party and I will firmly support this through legislation and policy."
Oh Gi-hyung, who chairs the special committee, also stressed, "We will pursue continuous institutional reforms not only to eliminate the Korea discount but also to achieve a Korea Premium."
He identified five key tasks: the third round of amendments to the Commercial Act of the Republic of Korea, preventing rubber-stamp boards of directors, improving the stewardship code (principles on the fiduciary duties of institutional investors), revising the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act in areas such as mandatory tender offers and dual listings, and preventing share-price suppression.
He added, "The core of the third amendment to the Commercial Act is reforming the treasury share system, and we plan to push ahead with improvements to tax laws and disclosure rules related to treasury shares at the same time," explaining, "Guidelines on directors’ fiduciary duties to shareholders are being drafted under the leadership of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Korea."
Earlier, after the Lee Jae-myung administration achieved one of its key policy goals of pushing the KOSPI to 5,000 points, the Democratic Party renamed its internal task force from the "KOSPI 5000 Special Committee" to the "Korea Premium K-Capital Market Special Committee."
bng@fnnews.com Kim Hee-seon Reporter