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Korea's alternative stock platform to suspend trading of 79 firms

Published: 18 Aug. 2025, 17:27

A person walks into the Nextrade headquarters in western Seoul on Aug. 18. [YONHAP]

Korea's alternative stock market, Nextrade (NXT), said Monday it will temporarily suspend the trading of 79 stocks starting this week.

The move comes as NXT takes pre-emptive measures to comply with market trading volume limits, also known as the "15 percent rule," stipulated in the enforcement decree of the Capital Markets Act.

Under the rule, the daily average trading volume of NXT over six months may not exceed 15 percent of the entire stock trading volume, with the first such evaluation set to be made Sept. 30, approximately six months after the launch of NXT in early March.

As of Thursday, NXT's daily average trading volume came to 11.4 percent of the total, but market observers believe the ratio may easily breach the 15 percent threshold if left untouched, considering the platform had offered trading of a very limited number of stocks when it was first launched.

To prevent its market share from going over the 15 percent mark, trading of 26 companies, including music publishing firm YG Plus, will be suspended during regular market sessions — between 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. — from Wednesday until Sept. 30, it said.

Shares of the remaining 53 firms, including food company Pulmuone, will be suspended from trading starting Sept. 1.

More companies could be added, and the suspension period could be extended depending on the market situation, an official from NXT said.

NXT was launched in early March, offering lower transaction fees and longer trading hours from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Yonhap