[DigitalToday reporter Sangyeop Oh] President Lee Jae-myung (이재명) described the KOSPI’s approach toward the 5,000 level as a “normalisation” process in which South Korea’s stock market is moving out of an undervalued phase and returning to its proper place.

At a New Year news conference at Cheong Wa Dae’s state guest house on Tuesday, Lee responded to suggestions that the KOSPI’s rise is concentrated in certain stocks and could lead to a sharp drop. “Isn’t that logic saying that since most stocks have not risen, there is nothing to fall?” he asked. He said the stock market is inherently diverse and that the current uptrend reflects easing undervaluation in the South Korean market combined with a boom in artificial intelligence and semiconductors.

On the recent share-price trend, he said the AI and semiconductor sectors have enjoyed a boom beyond expectations and led the index higher. He said the South Korean market has held up without a major decline despite instability in U.S. stocks and international conditions, showing that buying interest on the sidelines is solid.

Lee cited resolving the “Korea discount,” which he has stressed since before taking office, as the fundamental driver of the KOSPI’s rise. He pointed to key causes of undervaluation as peace risk on the Korean Peninsula, management and governance risk, market risks such as stock manipulation, and political uncertainty.

“No one invests in a country where the threat of war is rising, or in a market where executives siphon out the substance or stock manipulation is rampant,” Lee said. He said maintaining a peaceful policy stance after a change of government and strengthening market transparency are leading to lower risks and a higher index.

He added that managing peace through dialogue and persuasion, rather than a head-on confrontation, helps the economy. He said a peace policy of patience and reassurance, like a head of household who cannot act only on temper, is the fastest way to resolve the Korea discount.

He also reaffirmed his commitment to strong regulation to raise market transparency. “I will make it clear that if you manipulate stock prices, your family will be ruined,” he said, stressing zero tolerance for unfair trading.

On corporate governance, he said shareholders with 1 share and those with 100 shares should be treated with the same value. He said that if laws and systems are improved to remove management risks that unfairly harm minority shareholders, buying interest will naturally increase.