South Korea’s top finance minister convened a high-level meeting on Friday to address strategies for stabilizing domestic financial markets, against a backdrop of rising global interest rates and heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
During the session, Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol and key officials reviewed recent shifts in both global and local financial markets, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
Attendees identified persistent upward pressure on interest rates, driven by a surge in global government bond issuances and corporate bond offerings by leading artificial intelligence enterprises.
Officials also highlighted that escalating crude oil prices, fueled by renewed Middle East tensions, could further amplify market volatility, promising continuous close monitoring of the situation.
The administration pledged to shield vulnerable borrowers from the impact of rate hikes, noting that while current market conditions remain generally manageable, a sharp and sustained increase in interest rates could pose risks.
In addition to macroeconomic stability, participants reviewed ongoing reforms for the tech-heavy KOSDAQ market. The government had previously planned to raise the minimum market capitalization requirement for continued listing from 20 billion won ($15 million) to 30 billion won, starting in January.
However, authorities decided to postpone the implementation of the new threshold by six months, pushing it to July of next year. This delay aims to allow the market sufficient time to recover from recent volatility.
To mitigate the impact of delisting, companies meeting specific financial criteria will be permitted to transition their listings from KOSDAQ to the Korea New Exchange—focused on small businesses—without undergoing a liquidation trading period.