On the 4th, with the term of President Lee Jae-myung starting, the financial authorities are drawing market interest in the capital market policies they stated would be pursued this year. This is because, with the change of government, many of the previous administration's tasks are thoroughly re-examined or pushed back.
The financial authorities stated that there is no disagreement between the ruling and opposition parties on the direction of establishing market order and protecting shareholder interests, so they plan to pursue most existing policies as scheduled under the new government.
The '2025 Major Work Promotion Plan' announced by the Financial Services Commission on Jan. 7 includes numerous policy tasks for advancing the capital market. Among these, the financial authorities have completed the policy design and announced to the public improvements for initial public offerings (IPOs), delisting systems, and comprehensive financial investment business operators (CIPOs).
The remaining key policy tasks, including ▲improvements to the system for soliciting proxy voting ▲enhancements in executive compensation disclosure ▲improvements to the stewardship code ▲revisions to penalty surcharge systems for accounting fraud ▲establishment of sustainability (ESG) disclosure standards ▲revisions to auditor designation methods, have not been announced. Many capital market policies that the Yoon Suk-yeol administration aimed to implement are now being handed over to the Lee Jae-myung administration.
Typically, when a government changes, the policy tasks promoted by the previous administration are often thoroughly reviewed or completely discarded. Even if they continue, the existing tasks tend to be pushed back as the new president prioritizes key campaign promises. This is the reason for concerns in certain market circles that the new government may drastically revise the capital market policies of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration.
The financial authorities believe that regarding capital market-related policy tasks, except for some sensitive topics like corporate law amendments and taxes, there is enough consensus between the ruling and opposition parties under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, so they do not foresee the major tasks announced at the beginning of the year being halted. A senior official from the financial authorities noted, "Most of the capital market policies that have been pursued thus far align with the path of the new government."
According to the policy pledge book of the Democratic Party of Korea, President Lee promises ▲the introduction of a one-strike-out system for unfair practices in the capital market ▲strengthening sanctions for using undisclosed information related to duties ▲phased expansion of separate elections for audit committee members of large listed companies ▲institutionalization of the mandatory allocation of new shares to common stockholders of the parent company upon the listing of subsidiaries after physical separation ▲strengthening shareholder returns.
On the last day of the election campaign, Feb. 2, President Lee chose Yeouido in Seoul, where securities firms and asset management companies are concentrated, as his final rally location. There, he stated, "I will normalize the stock market as soon as possible."
In the market, there are forecasts that 'revisions to the Commercial Act to include a duty of loyalty to shareholders' and 'activation of concentrated voting systems for electing directors representing minority shareholders' will be prioritized. This is because these tasks were emphasized as campaign promises for revitalizing the stock market during the presidential election. A financial investment industry source noted, "The broad framework of advancing the capital market and enhancing shareholder rights is aligned, so we expect there to be more favorable policies for our stock market trends."