According to the Kyunghyang Shinmun, President Lee told Blue House reporters on the 19th that it is true the Korean market is very undervalued and that he will soon receive a comprehensive report and take necessary action. He was answering a question about the falling value of the National Pension Service's domestic equity holdings after a drop in the KOSPI. The content and timing of any measures were not disclosed.

The president named corporate governance, market transparency, Korea's geopolitical position and industrial policy uncertainty as causes. He judged policy uncertainty to have improved considerably, but said distrust over abuse of controlling-shareholder power has not fully gone away. Entrenching a culture that respects shareholders, he said, remains the task ahead.

Direct intervention not desirable

Financial News reported that he made clear direct government intervention in financial and securities markets is difficult and not desirable. He added that a correction after a big rally is unavoidable and that nobody knows its level, and declined to comment on individual stocks.

At the National Assembly Political Affairs Committee audit the same day, a matter tied to market trust surfaced. The Segye Ilbo reported that FSS governor Lee Chan-jin said Solidigm's push to list in the US conflicts with duplicate-listing rules and that the agency awaits an authoritative interpretation from the Financial Services Commission. People Power Party lawmaker Park Sung-hoon argued SK hynix explained the negative impact on the parent's share price to the US SEC but not to domestic shareholders.

Solidigm was created when SK hynix bought Intel's NAND flash and SSD business in 2021. Concern has persisted that a subsidiary listing could dilute the parent's shareholders. Lee said the FSS will do what it can, but whether the rule applies has not been finally decided, so the outcome remains to be seen.