As the KOSPI topped the 5,000 mark, Kim Hak-kyun, president of the Korea Venture Capital Association, pointed to structural limits in the KOSDAQ market and stressed the need to build an ecosystem by revitalizing institutional investment.
At the "2026 innovation venture industry New Year's gathering" held on the 22nd, Kim said, "From the venture capital (VC) industry's perspective, the KOSPI's climb past 5,000 is certainly something to celebrate," but added, "Looking at the KOSDAQ market, it's hard to be simply pleased, which is very disappointing."
Kim noted that the KOSDAQ market is currently run with a focus on individual investors. Kim said, "About 95% of current KOSDAQ transactions rely on individual transactions," and added, "Venture capital runs funds based on large institutional money such as pension funds and public funds, but the overall market structure still relies heavily on individual liquidity." Kim continued, "With this structure, it is difficult for innovative corporations to grow over the long term," and stressed, "Even after a KOSDAQ listing, we need to build an investment ecosystem that connects with institutional investment."
Kim argued that the KOSDAQ needs to be converted into a structure like the U.S. Nasdaq. Kim said, "List corporations that meet certain criteria on the KOSDAQ, and after listing, keep channeling institutional investors' funds so those corporations can grow into global corporations," adding, "Only then can a virtuous-cycle ecosystem be built."
Kim cited Tesla in the United States as a representative example. Kim said, "After listing on Nasdaq in 2011, Tesla posted losses for about nine years, but received about $9 billion of investment during that period," and explained, "As institutional investors' funds continued to flow into the Nasdaq market, it was able to shift to a profitable corporation starting in 2020."
Kim said, "In Korea, once public offering funds are raised through an IPO, investment effectively ends," adding, "The biggest reason for the disconnected market structure in which follow-on investment does not continue after listing is the absence of institutional investment." Kim emphasized, "Only by bringing institutional investors into the KOSDAQ market to create a steady flow of investment can innovative venture corporations grow into global corporations."