KOSPI boom drives sharp rise in trading accounts

The electronic display board at the Korea Exchange in Seoul shows the KOSPI index and other market indicators, Monday. The KOSPI closed at 4,221.87, up 114.37 points, or 2.78 percent, from the previous trading day. Yonhap

Korea’s stock market rally, marked by a 76 percent surge in the benchmark KOSPI this year, has driven a sharp increase in active stock trading accounts, data from the Korea Financial Investment Association showed Tuesday.

As of Oct. 31, the number of active stock trading accounts stood at 95.33 million, up 8.76 million from 86.57 million at the end of last year.

Unlike simple account openings, active accounts refer to those actually used for trading, defined as brokerage or investment savings accounts with deposits exceeding 100,000 won ($69) and at least one transaction in the past six months. Since inactive accounts are excluded, the figure reflects genuine investor participation.

The total number of active stock trading accounts surpasses Korea’s population of 51.75 million by more than 80 percent, indicating an average of around two trading accounts per person.

The surge in stock trading accounts appears to reflect rising optimism over President Lee Jae Myung’s campaign pledge to usher in the “KOSPI 5,000 era,” as the index continues to reach new record highs.

The KOSPI climbed past 3,700 on Oct. 16, 3,900 on Oct. 24, broke the 4,000 mark on Oct. 27 and surpassed 4,200 on Monday, before slightly retreating to 4,100 on Tuesday.

Amid the rally, analysts say, many individuals who had previously shown little interest in equities are now opening trading accounts and actively entering the market.

The amount of money circulating in the Korean stock market has also risen to near-record levels amid the bullish sentiment.

In October, the average daily trading value reached 40.3 trillion won, up 51 percent from the previous month. This approaches the all-time peak of 42.1 trillion won set in January 2021, when global liquidity surged as central banks slashed interest rates to support pandemic-hit economies.

Kiwoom Securities analyst Ahn Young-jun noted that this rise in trading activity may represent a long-term structural trend rather than a short-lived spike.

“The sharp growth in stock accounts reflects heightened public engagement with financial markets,” he said. “The concurrent increase in investor deposits and market capitalization suggests that more capital is consistently flowing into Korean equities as investor interest continues to build.”

Analysts expect the domestic stock market to maintain its upward trajectory, buoyed by sustained gains in the semiconductor sector and positive spillover from U.S. tech shares. They also view the restart of the U.S. rate-cut cycle and coordinated global policy easing as further catalysts.

“Liquidity conditions are likely to improve further, potentially leading to renewed expectations for an economic rebound after a time lag,” Daishin Securities analyst Lee Kyung-min said.

The analyst raised the year-end KOSPI target from 4,100 to 4,250.