Justice minister shares phone number with young Koreans, says Kospi rally means little to those with nothing to invest

Amid the Kospi's rally past 8,000, Justice Minister Jeong Seong-ho has called on young Koreans in their 20s and 30s to take an active interest in protecting their assets and to submit policy proposals to his ministry.

According to the Ministry of Justice, Jeong made the remarks at the inaugural ceremony of the third cohort of the ministry's Youth Advisory Panel for People in Their 20s and 30s, held at the Government Gwacheon Complex on June 22. "Even if the Kospi hits 9,000 or 10,000, what does it mean to you if you don't have money in your pocket right now?" he said, invoking the benchmark index.

"People with money are thrilled that share prices have suddenly shot up," Jeong said. "But if you in your 20s and 30s borrow to invest, or invest what little you've managed to save, how much can you really make? For most of you, it's someone else's story."

The minister raised the Kospi in his address because younger generations, who tend to hold relatively modest assets, are also the most vulnerable to financial fraud such as voice phishing and jeonse fraud.

Addressing young people whose livelihoods can be upended even by small-scale fraud, Jeong said, "In a society like this, even our lives and our small savings are under threat from voice phishing and jeonse fraud. Look at jeonse fraud victims — aren't they mostly people who don't own their own homes? The vast majority of fraud victims are people in their 20s and 30s."

He urged the panel members to help close that gap. "I'm not asking for the ideas of an older generation like me," he said. "I'm asking for proposals from your generation — things you feel in your bones, like 'this system should change' or 'this policy would make a difference.' Please send me as many of those as you can."

Jeong also shared his personal phone number so panel members could contact him directly.

"Take out your phones. Take them out right now and save this number under 'Justice Minister,'" he said, before reading out the digits.

"It's the justice minister's number, so if you have a suggestion — and if you've already made one but nothing has changed — send me a text directly and I will take it into account. Please do make those proposals," he said.

Meanwhile, data from the Korea Securities Depository showed that as of the end of last year, retail investors in their 20s numbered about 790,000, accounting for just 8.8 percent of all individual investors, while those in their 30s totaled about 2.6 million, or 19.1 percent. Investors in their 50s made up the largest share at about 3.33 million, or 23.1 percent, followed by those in their 40s at about 3.15 million, or 21.8 percent — meaning the 40-and-50 age bracket accounted for nearly half of all retail investors.

Investors in their 60s numbered about 2.2 million, or 15.3 percent, and those in their 70s about 790,000, or 5.5 percent. Those under 20 made up 5.3 percent.