KOSPI 8,000 Era: Penny Stock Purge Begins as Rules Tighten
If you trade Korean stocks, pay attention. The penny stock game is about to end. Starting July, South Korea's financial authorities are flipping the switch on the most aggressive delisting reform in the country's history. Stocks trading under 1,000 won — the so-called "penny stocks" that speculators love and fundamental investors ignore — are being systematically pushed toward the exit. And this isn't some minor regulatory tweak. It's part of a deliberate campaign to restructure Korea's equity market ahead of what policymakers are calling the "KOSPI 8,000 era." Let me put the numbers on the table because they're genuinely aggressive. Currently, a KOSPI-listed company needs a market cap of at least 200 billion won (about $140 million USD) to avoid delisting. That floor jumps to 300 billion won this July and 400 billion won by January 2025. On the KOSDAQ, the threshold moves from 150 billion won to 200 billion won in July, then 30...