As volatility in the KOSPI has increased this month, attention is being drawn to the KOSDAQ market's relatively solid downside support. While the KOSPI recorded a double-digit decline rate, the KOSDAQ's drop remained in single digits.
However, opinions suggest that for the KOSDAQ to move beyond relative resilience and secure its own upward momentum, it needs expanded investment in growth companies and enhanced market credibility.
According to Korea Exchange (KRX) on the 20th, the KOSPI index has fallen 18.51% since the start of this month, while the KOSDAQ declined by only 8.43%. The difference in decline rates between the two markets is 10.08 percentage points (p). Even as common negative factors—geopolitical uncertainty and foreign selling pressure—weighed on domestic stock markets, distinct differences emerged between the markets.
In particular, within the KOSPI, declines varied by company size. The KOSPI 200 index, centered on large-cap stocks, fell 20.74% over the same period, recording a larger drop than the overall market. In contrast, the decline in small- and mid-cap stocks was relatively limited.
This is interpreted to mean that the recent stock market plunge was heavily influenced by selling flows concentrated in large-cap stocks with high market capitalizations, such as semiconductors.
Of the KOSPI's total market capitalization of 457.2 trillion won, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix account for approximately 46%. Analysts note that since semiconductor giants have led index gains in the past, their influence has been significant even during downturns.
On the other hand, the KOSDAQ features a distribution of companies related to various growth industries—such as biotechnology, secondary batteries, robotics, and materials, components and equipment for semiconductors—among its top market capitalization rankings. It is assessed that this dispersion of shock from sharp declines in specific sectors helped reduce the index's drop compared to the KOSPI.
However, some point out that it is premature to interpret the KOSDAQ's relative resilience as a strengthening of market competitiveness. This is because the KOSDAQ did not avoid weakness; it simply fell less than the KOSPI.
The financial investment industry emphasizes that for the KOSDAQ to secure independent upward momentum, expanded investment in growth companies through policy finance, such as the National Growth Fund, must be pursued alongside structural market improvements.
Among these, the KOSDAQ promotion and demotion system, whose introduction was decided earlier this year, is highlighted as a measure to enhance the competitiveness of high-quality companies by dividing the market into premium, standard, and management groups.
Researcher Eom Su-jin at Hanwha Investment & Securities said, "When the KOSDAQ promotion and demotion system is implemented, being designated in the premium segment will have an effect similar to a transfer listing on the securities market, thereby enhancing the image and credibility of those companies." She added, "As a result, it is expected that the outflow of large, high-quality stocks from the KOSDAQ market will be suppressed."
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