[Edaily Reporter Kwon Oh Seok ] The Korea Exchange (KRX) will launch an “after-hours market” starting on the 14th, operating from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. after the close of regular trading. Starting that day, investors will be able to trade most of the approximately 2,500 KOSPI and KOSDAQ stocks—excluding exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and exchange-traded notes (ETNs)—in real time even on their way home from work after the market closes. With the launch of the Korea Exchange’s after-market, the battle for market dominance with Nextrade, an alternative trading system (ATS) that had previously dominated the market, is expected to intensify.

This restructuring will significantly change the Korea Exchange’s trading hours and order matching methods. The after-hours market will operate for four hours, from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding public holidays. Previously, the “after-hours single-price” system was used, in which orders were aggregated and processed in 10-minute intervals from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.; however, moving forward, it will switch to the “real-time matching” system, where buy and sell orders are immediately matched and executed, similar to the regular trading session. The existing after-hours single-price market will be discontinued. In addition, orders can be placed for all KOSPI and KOSDAQ stocks, with the exception of those that were not traded during the regular session that day, as well as stocks under investment warnings, ultra-low-liquidity stocks, and stocks under special supervision—that is, cases requiring market management.

The Korea Exchange has also put safeguards in place to reduce market volatility risks. ETFs and ETNs are excluded from trading, and order types are limited to limit orders. The price fluctuation range is set at ±30% based on the previous day’s closing price—the same as during regular trading hours—and the Volatility Interruption (VI) mechanism, which prevents sharp price fluctuations, will operate identically.

For investor orders, if a specific market is not designated during the same time period (4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.) on both the Korea Exchange and the Alternative Trading System (ATS) Nextrade, securities firms will submit the order to the market most favorable to the investor (in terms of execution probability and total amount) in accordance with best execution standards.