Korea Investment & Securities Co. said on Jan. 29 that starting Feb. 2 it will enhance trading benefits for customers using the premarket. The premarket is a venue that operates from 8 a.m. to 8:50 a.m. on weekdays before the opening of regular domestic stock trading and is offered through NEXTRADE (NXT), an alternative trading system.
Korea Investment & Securities Co. will run an early-bird event, "Reboot Korea 2026: Now is Korea Investment," from Feb. 2 to 27. During the event period, for premarket transactions of 50 million won or more, 1,000 people will be selected by lottery each day to receive a 5,000-won investment subsidy.
The event allows duplicate participation every day. Additional benefits are added according to the number of participations, bringing the maximum benefit an individual customer can receive to 1.085 million won. Details will be available on the website and the mobile trading system (MTS) starting on the 30th.
Since the service launched in Mar. last year, investor interest in the premarket has steadily increased. According to Korea Investment & Securities Co., the number of premarket transaction customers has risen an average of 68.8% per month, exceeding 110,000 as of Jan. this year. In addition, in terms of profitability, the average return of premarket users was more than three times higher than those who used only the regular session, showing the efficiency of pre-open trading.
Korea Investment & Securities Co. said this appears to reflect investor demand to check key issues before the regular session opens and establish response strategies amid expanding volatility in global stock markets. It added that using the premarket allows investors to assess the market's direction in advance and establish more systematic investment strategies.
Gwak Jin, head of the eBiz division at Korea Investment & Securities Co., said, "The structural role of the premarket in bridging the time gap between global market trends and the domestic market continues to stand out," adding, "As the Korea Exchange (KRX) is also preparing to open a premarket, pre-open transactions will continue to grow in importance as a strategic hub for investment decisions, beyond simply expanding the market."