Korea Exchange (KRX) will temporarily cut stock trading fees by 20–40% for two months starting Dec. 15.
The exchange will change the current single trading fee rate of 0.0023% to a tiered rate system from this day through Feb. 13 next year. The temporary fee cut is seen as a move to align fee rates with the alternative trading system (ATS) NEXTRADE (NXT).
NEXTRADE (NXT) applies a fee rate of 0.00134% for limit orders and 0.00182% for market orders. Since its launch in March, NEXTRADE (NXT) has seen a surge in trading volume, and in October it surpassed the trading volume cap known as the "15% rule."
As of the end of October, the average daily trading volume on NEXTRADE (NXT)'s regular market over the past six months (May 1–Oct. 31) was about 216.81 million shares, or 15.66% of the Korea Exchange (KRX)'s average daily trading volume (1.38465 billion shares) over the same period.
The measure will be limited to two months. The exchange can decide fee adjustments and exemptions within three months on its own, but for longer periods they must be reviewed by the Market Efficiency Committee under the Financial Services Commission (FSC).