Korean President Lee rings the New York Stock Exchange opening bell, woos U.S. investors
Published: 26 Sep. 2025, 00:25
Updated: 26 Sep. 2025, 09:06
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- SARAH KIM
- [email protected]
![President Lee Jae Myung, third from left, waves after ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange in New York on Sept. 25. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/09/26/7af27b4d-e893-4200-9089-a8e8379c70c8.jpg)
President Lee Jae Myung, third from left, waves after ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange in New York on Sept. 25. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
NEW YORK — President Lee Jae Myung rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) at 9:30 a.m. Thursday to a crowd of cheering traders and business leaders from Korea and the United States ahead of convening a bilateral investment summit.
Lee waved from the podium at the NYSE building in lower Manhattan after the ringing of the brass bell, a largely symbolic gesture signaling the start of a regular trading session at the world's largest stock exchange.
The bell ringing ceremony signifies the moment a securities exchange opens for its normal daily trading session — the most famous is the opening bell used by the New York Stock Exchange. Visiting dignitaries, celebrities and business leaders are often invited to ring the opening bell as a symbolic ritual for traders in the stock market, often highlighting major achievements.
U.S. President Donald Trump as president-elect rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange in December last year for the first time, after being recognized for the second time by TIME Magazine as its person of the year.
Lynn Martin, president of the New York Stock Exchange, welcomed President Lee and called the Korea Investment Summit an opportunity to "highlight the Korea Premium."
She said that the Korean delegation's ringing of the bell of the New York Stock Exchange "signifies the opening of the U.S. market and more importantly the global economy."
"This gesture highlighted Korea's brightened economic future, and I know this is something that President Lee is eager to celebrate," Martin said.
![President Lee Jae Myung, center, visits the New York Stock Exchange in New York on Sept. 25. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/09/26/0dba1aef-90b3-48ad-934f-6babd1220b74.jpg)
President Lee Jae Myung, center, visits the New York Stock Exchange in New York on Sept. 25. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
Lee's trip to Wall Street comes during his five-day visit to New York for the 80th session of the UN General Assembly. The Korean leader has been keen to transform the "Korea discount" into a "Korea premium" for global investors.
The investor relations event came as Lee aimed to promote his vision of a "Kospi 5000 era" to Wall Street and encourage investment in Korea.
Previous Korean presidents that visited the NYSE include then President Kim Dae-jung in 1998, President Roh Moo-hyun in 2003 and President Lee Myung-bak in 2008.
The investment summit included some 20 Wall Street executives, including Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser, Pacific Investment Management CEO Emmanuel Roman, Franklin Templeton CEO Jennifer Johnson, JPMorgan Asset and Wealth Management CEO Mary Erdoes, KKR co-CEO Joseph Bae, Blackstone COO John Gray and Mach Nachmann, head of Goldman Sachs Asset and Wealth Management, according to the presidential office.
Korean participants included government officials and business leaders, including Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol, Financial Services Commission Chair Lee Eog-weon, Financial Supervisory Service Gov. Lee Chan-jin and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, who also heads the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Other financial sector representatives included executives from Shinhan Financial Group, Hana Financial Group, Korea Development Bank, Samsung Card, Hanwha Life and Hyundai Capital.
BY SARAH KIM [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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