After breaking the 1,200 mark in April, it plummeted 40.9%... Yield gap with KOSPI 57.7%p
Exodus of blue-chip companies, polarization of performance, concentration of funds in large-cap stocks... Structural limitations 30 years after launch
KOSDAQ is on the verge of collapsing below the 700 level. It surpassed the 1,200 mark in April, but fell by more than 40% in six months. While KOSPI was hitting record highs, led by large-cap semiconductor stocks, KOSDAQ was unable to continue its upward trend, and fell sharply during the stock market correction period.
On the 30th, KOSDAQ closed at 724.38, down 3.83% from the previous trading day. The decline rate compared to the end of last year is 21.73%. On the other hand, KOSPI rose 35.99% during the same period, widening the return gap to 57.72% points.
The KOSDAQ's slump is due to structural problems such as the departure of blue-chip companies, polarization of performance, and concentration of funds in large-cap stocks.
30 years since launch, the market has grown but the index has taken a step back
KOSDAQ was launched in July 1996, modeled after the U.S. NASDAQ. If the base index at the time of launch is converted to the current standard, it is 1000, but as of the end of October this year, 30 years later, the index was 724.38, 27.6% lower.
The index, which rose to 2834.40 during the dot-com bubble in 2000, fell to 261.19 during the 2008 financial crisis. Afterwards, it went through a bull market due to the bio and secondary battery craze and increased liquidity, but it failed to lead to a long-term upward trend.
The number of listed companies increased more than five-fold from 341 at the time of launch to 1,826 at the end of October this year, and the market capitalization also increased approximately 60-fold from about 7 trillion won to 410.4 trillion won. Although market capitalization growth due to new listings and index performance must be distinguished, long-term index performance was sluggish compared to external growth.
Blue-chip companies are leaving, and investment funds are moving to large-cap KOSPI stocks.
One of KOSDAQ's structural weaknesses is the departure of blue-chip companies. Following Naver, Kakao, and Celltrion, KOSDAQ lost its representative company as POSCO DX and L&F were moved to KOSPI for listing.
In particular, the departure of individual investors from KOSDAQ was noticeable this year. As a result of analyzing Korea Exchange data, by the end of October, individuals had net sold 6.2 trillion won in KOSDAQ, while net bought 96.9 trillion won in KOSPI. Net purchases of 88.4 trillion won by individuals and 19.8 trillion won by institutions were concentrated only in Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.
Even foreigners who supported the supply and demand of KOSDAQ turned to selling. There was a net purchase of 6.1 trillion won from January to July, but a net sale of 4.2 trillion won from August to October. The average daily trading value of KOSDAQ also plummeted by 56.5% from KRW 15.5661 trillion in May to KRW 6.7727 trillion in October.
KOSPI and KOSDAQ, clear gap in profitability
According to the Korea Exchange's financial statements for the first half of 2026, the proportion of companies with net losses is 36.7% for KOSDAQ, which is twice that of KOSPI at 18.1%. There was also a large difference in operating profit ratio at 19.41% for KOSPI and 5.14% for KOSDAQ. Even excluding Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, KOSPI was 9.17%, about 1.8 times that of KOSDAQ.
Due to the nature of KOSDAQ, which has a high proportion of technology and growth companies, the initial deficit cannot be immediately viewed as insolvency. However, if growth expectations do not lead to performance and repeated paid-in capital increases and convertible bond issuances increase concerns about dilution of existing shareholders' shares, investor confidence is bound to weaken.
Financial authorities are seeking to strengthen delisting standards and reorganize market structure. However, just eliminating insolvent companies is not enough. An environment is needed where blue-chip companies can remain on KOSDAQ, receive appropriate corporate value evaluations, and allow long-term investment funds to flow in.
KOSDAQ has nurtured many innovative companies over the past 30 years, but the company's growth and market performance have not been consistent.