South Korea's KOSDAQ market slides despite new government support measures

On April 21 the KOSDAQ index fell 2.09% to 734.01, reaching a 52‑week low as trading value dropped about 30% from 6.78 trillion won to 4.72 trillion won. While overall market credit balances rose 80%, KOSDAQ‑specific credit fell 7.9%, indicating a shortage of buying pressure.

The government has announced a series of reforms, including tax incentives for venture funds, increased pension‑fund exposure (shifting the benchmark from 100% KOSPI to 95% KOSPI + 5% KOSDAQ), and stricter delisting thresholds that raise the market‑cap floor from 40 billion won to 150 billion won, later to 200 billion and 300 billion won. New “special‑tech” listings for AI, space and energy firms and a premium/standard segmentation with linked ETFs are also planned. Analysts argue that without broader investor inflows and with capital concentrated in Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix – a “straw effect” – the policies may have limited impact.