KRX to keep public institution status

The government decided to maintain the Korea Exchange (KRX), the nation’s sole securities exchange operator, as a public institution yesterday.

The Ministry of Strategy and Finance said the government will run a total of 295 public institutions this year, adding 10 new entities to the public sector and removing three bodies from the list.

The KRX wanted to gain managerial freedom but failed to do so as the government decided to keep it as a public institution until the capital market law is revised.

“The issue will be discussed again if the current monopoly on the local stock market eases, as the law allows other exchanges to enter the market,” the ministry said in a statement.

By law, when revenue from a business that enjoys a monopoly exceeds half of all revenue from that industry, it is classified as a public institution.

Roughly 78 percent of the KRX’s revenues come from stock-trading commissions, and commissions it takes when companies are listed.

There have been concerns that allowing the KRX to operate as a private company could lead to reckless management and fatten the wallets of employees and executives, similar to what happened in 2008. The KRX is technically a private company, but due to its unique monopoly it is classified as a public one.

By Song Su-hyun [ssh@joongang.co.kr]