At Kiwoom Securities, which holds the largest market share in the domestic stock market, issues with processing stock orders occurred for two consecutive days. Kiwoom Securities explained that this was due to a sudden surge in transaction volume and that they had taken measures to normalize the situation, but customer complaints are pouring in.
On the 4th, around 12:50 p.m., Kiwoom Securities announced the "normalization of order processing delays." Kiwoom Securities stated, "The delay that occurred in some orders has been normalized," and asked customers to check the order processing status again through the 'unfulfilled' or 'confirmation of execution' screens if there were delays in their orders.
From 9 a.m. that day, Kiwoom Securities experienced delays or issues with stock order submissions through the Mobile Trading System (MTS). Although they announced normalization around 10:40 a.m., issues arose again around 11:20 a.m. when the Constitutional Court was announcing the results of President Yoon Suk-yeol's impeachment trial. It wasn't until more than an hour had passed that stock orders were processed normally again.
The day before, Kiwoom Securities also faced a situation where stock orders were not processed normally for the first hour after the market opened on the Home Trading System (HTS) and MTS. Kiwoom Securities attributed the issue to the influx of order volume. It noted that domestic stock prices were volatile due to U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of "reciprocal tariffs" and the impeachment trial ruling of President Yoon Suk-yeol, causing a surge in orders from the beginning of the trading session.
There are opinions within the financial investment industry that it's difficult to explain the situation solely by the surge in order volume. Kiwoom Investment & Securities is currently recording an approximate market share of around 30% based on the daily average contracts for domestic stocks. This indicates that it is not uncommon for personal investors to concentrate their transactions.
Speculation has arisen that the issues may not be unrelated to Kiwoom Securities' automated order routing system (SOR) introduced alongside the launch of the alternative exchange NextTrade. When investors place buy and sell orders, the SOR directs the orders to the more advantageous market between the Korea Exchange and NextTrade, potentially splitting the order quantities between the two exchanges.
Kiwoom Securities is the only securities firm participating in NextTrade that has established its own SOR. In stock communities, advice has been shared that adjusting the 'disable SOR' setting in Kiwoom Securities' MTR could alleviate the delays in trading. A representative from Kiwoom Securities noted that "the correlation with the SOR has not been confirmed."
Kiwoom Securities expressed regret for the inconvenience caused to customers due to the order instability issue and stated that it would accept claims related to losses. They plan to provide compensation based on log records.
Kiwoom Securities customers are expressing concerns that the same issues may recur, independent of compensation. Voices suggesting a switch to other securities firms are also emerging. Posts have appeared on Kiwoom Securities' customer bulletin board stating, "The other name for finance is trust, yet Kiwoom Securities has crossed a river it may not return from for two consecutive days," and "I have no choice but to go to another firm," and suggestions to start a "Kiwoom withdrawal movement."