Korea Exchange chief heads to New York for global roadshow, MOU with NYSE

Korea Exchange Chairman Jeong Eun-bo is traveling to the United States to promote South Korea's capital markets to global institutional investors and deepen cooperation with the New York Stock Exchange.

Korea Exchange said Jeong departed for the United States on Monday to host a global roadshow in New York and sign a memorandum of understanding with the NYSE.

Before his New York schedule, Jeong will meet with technology companies in Silicon Valley to hear about their experiences entering the US market, raising capital and navigating the local investment environment, while surveying the latest trends in AI and other technology industries.

On Thursday, Jeong will host the "Korea Exchange Global Roadshow in New York," targeting major institutional investors including global asset managers and hedge funds. The event is co-organized by Korea Exchange and Bank of America Securities, with about 20 global institutional investors expected to attend.

At the roadshow, Jeong plans to outline the capital market reforms and efforts to improve foreign investor access that the government and Korea Exchange have pursued. The aim is to broaden global investor attention and participation in South Korea's capital markets.

"As overseas investor interest in South Korea's capital markets continues to grow, we will keep pushing ahead with reforms to improve foreign investor access and advance the market," Jeong said.

On the same day, Jeong will also sign an MOU with the NYSE to strengthen cooperation in market operations and infrastructure.

Under the MOU, the two exchanges will share experience and expertise accumulated through market operation and infrastructure innovations, including extended trading hours and the shift to T+1 settlement. They will also establish a joint consultative body as needed to sustain ongoing cooperation.

"I expect this MOU to further strengthen cooperation between the two exchanges and serve as an opportunity to enhance the competitiveness of both countries' capital markets," Jeong said.

NYSE President Lynn Martin said South Korea's capital markets play an important role in connecting global investors with innovative companies. "I look forward to using this MOU as an opportunity to improve global investor access and further expand cooperation between our two exchanges," she said.

Korea Exchange has been steadily broadening its engagement with overseas investors. In June, Jeong attended a World Federation of Exchanges board meeting to discuss capital market issues with the heads of major exchanges, then visited Norway's sovereign wealth fund to present the results of capital market reforms pursued by the South Korean government and Korea Exchange and to highlight improvements to the investment environment. The exchange has been reinforcing communication with long-term investors such as sovereign wealth funds and pension funds as it works to expand the base for foreign capital inflows.