Yi Whan-woo is a Korea Times journalist primarily covering finance. He writes in-depth articles on macroeconomy and financial markets and previously covered sports, politics, diplomacy and inter-Korean affairs, among others. Feel free to contact him at yistory@koreatimes.co.kr.
Jefferies, KB Securities execs find momentum in Korea’s market reform drive
Christopher Wood, global head of equity strategy at multinational investment banking company Jefferies, gives a presentation on the opening day of 2025 KB-Jefferies Korea Conference at Conrad Seoul hotel in Seoul's financial district of Yeouido, Tuesday. Courtesy of KB Securities
By Yi Whan-woo
Structural reforms in Korea’s stock market are expected to improve global investor sentiment, supported by President Lee Jae Myung’s control over both the executive and legislative branches, as well as a rare policy shift toward strengthening minority shareholder rights, according to two senior executives from Jefferies and KB Securities Tuesday.
Christopher Wood, global head of equity strategy at multinational investment banking company Jefferies, called the Lee administration a “catalyst” for market reforms, which could draw in more investors domestically and internationally.
Peter Kim, head of the global business group at KB Securities, gives a presentation on the opening day of 2025 KB-Jefferies Korea Conference at Conrad Seoul hotel in Seoul's financial district of Yeouido, Tuesday. Courtesy of KB Securities
Peter Kim, head of the global business group at KB Securities, highlighted the empowerment of minority shareholders’ rights, calling it a “big breakthrough” that results from a rare three-way consensus among the government, companies and investors.
Both executives tasked with global investment made their remarks on the opening day of 2025 KB-Jefferies Korea Conference, amid the Lee administration’s reform drive to tackle long-standing undervaluation of domestic stocks.
“The election of a left-wing government ironically has been the catalyst for the market move,” Wood said during the conference at the Conrad Seoul hotel in the financial district of Yeouido. “Now you have a government controlling both the executive and legislative branches, and we see a better chance of tax code overhauls and corporate governance reforms.”
He referred to Lee’s win in the June 3 snap presidential election and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), where Lee served as chairman before his presidency, holding an absolute majority in the National Assembly.
Wood added that Seoul’s stock market surged nearly 30 percent since the start of the year, with Lee committed to pushing the benchmark KOSPI to an unprecedented 5,000 points during his presidency.
“Korea has been the market that went vertical this year,” Wood said, adding, “There’s clearly room for foreigners to commit further.”
Regarding domestic investors, Wood said the Lee administration’s market reform drive can “incentivize Koreans to invest in equities,” after both retail and institutional investors have been major investors offshore.
Wood explained that Korea’s 2025 market performance has occurred without the contribution of bellwether Samsung Electronics, which remains the largest constituent of the MSCI Korea index at 28 percent.
This contrasts sharply with Taiwan, where top company TSMC makes up over 50 percent of the MSCI Taiwan benchmark and has dominated performance.
In a separate address, Kim called the recent passage of the revised Commercial Act a “big breakthrough” in the structural reform of the market.
“This is a major legal shift,” he said, explaining that the revised law requires corporate boards to fulfill fiduciary duties to all shareholders.
Previously, the interpretation of Korean management’s fiduciary duties extended only to majority shareholders. Now, minority shareholders are legally considered equal.
“I’ve been observing Korea for 30 years, and this is the first time all three major stakeholders — government, companies and investors — are slowly inching toward a shared consensus,” Kim said. “This isn’t a law that forces companies to pay more dividends, it’s a foundation to prevent blatant corporate misconduct.”
KB Securities and Jefferies have been business partners for five years.
This year, they joined forces to co-host the 2025 KB Korea Conference — an annual event previously organized solely by KB Securities for the past nine years — to explore key trends in the Korean and global investment landscape.
The conference will run through Wednesday.
The 2025 edition drew representatives from more than 100 companies and 700 investors, as well as distinguished speakers.
Discussions at the conference focused on the growing impact of macroeconomic and geopolitical risks, the rise of individual investors as a new driving force in the market, and the structural need for Korean households to diversify globally, given their traditionally heavy concentration in real estate.
Among the speakers Tuesday were Simon Ogus, DSG Asia founder and CEO; Will Denyer, Gavekal partner and chief U.S. economist; Johnson Wan, Jefferies’ head of industrials, new energy, autos and commodities research; and Jonathan Foo and Kristine Lau, both directors at M Science.