KRX reports 1.8 trillion won traded in inaugural after-hours session

On Monday, the Korea Exchange launched a four-hour after-hours trading window for the KOSPI and Kosdaq, allowing investors to trade in real time from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. During this period, 72.24 million shares worth roughly 1.82 trillion won were exchanged, representing a modest share of the total daily volume of 900 million shares. Prior to this, after-hours activity was confined to the Nextrade system, which handled 12.17 million shares worth 1.78 trillion won and limited trading to about 600 stocks.

The new session opens most listed equities to after-hours trading, though ETFs and ETNs remain excluded, and standard price limits and circuit-breaker rules still apply. A KRX official linked the move to global competition, noting that U.S. exchanges plan 23-hour trading later this year.