Korea Exchange (KRX) is postponing the launch of the premarket, which it had been pushing to introduce within the year, to the end of 2027. The move comes amid continued industry concerns over the burden of system development and staffing. The aftermarket, however, will go ahead as scheduled on Sept. 14.
Korea Exchange (KRX) said in a press release on the 19th that it will delay the implementation of the premarket to the end of 2027. The decision follows continued industry feedback during mock market operations that the burden of IT system development and staffing is heavy.
In particular, it said difficulties in building a single board had an impact. The single board is a structure that links and manages unfilled orders moving from the premarket to the regular market and then to the aftermarket within a single system.
Earlier, the exchange initially sought to introduce the pre- and aftermarket in June this year, but pushed it back once to September to secure system development time. This is the second postponement.
By contrast, the aftermarket will begin operation on Sept. 14 as scheduled. Industry views reportedly indicated that pushing ahead with the aftermarket introduction on the existing timeline would pose no major difficulties.
Korea Exchange (KRX) said, "Introducing a 24-hour transaction system is essential to secure the global competitiveness of the domestic capital market," adding, "Along with longer transaction hours, we will also shorten the settlement cycle without delay to strengthen the global competitiveness of the stock market infrastructure."