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Differences Between KOSPI and KOSDAQ — Why Both are Listed When Looking at the Korean Market KOSPIとKOSDAQの違い — 韓国市場を見るとき両方を並べる理由
When reading news about the Korean market, you'll always see two indices mentioned side-by-side. It's common to see phrases like, 'KOSPI rose, KOSDAQ fell.' If you imagine a relationship similar to Japan's Nikkei and TOPIX, you'll misunderstand the reality.
While Japan's two indices measure the same market using different calculation methods, Korea's KOSPI and KOSDAQ are different markets entirely.
KOSPI is the main board market of the Korea Exchange. Large companies like Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Hyundai Motor are listed here. The KOSPI index is a market capitalization-weighted index of this entire market, positioned similarly to Japan's Prime Market.
KOSDAQ is a market for mid-to-large-sized and venture companies. It has many small-to-mid-cap stocks related to biotech, gaming, and secondary batteries, and tends to be volatile. While it's explained as being close to a growth market, its presence in the overall Korean market is larger than that of a growth market, and it's always treated as an equal counterpart to KOSPI in news reports.
These two frequently diverge. Especially in semiconductor-led markets, it's common for KOSPI to be strong while KOSDAQ is weak. This happens because foreign investors' funds concentrate in large-cap stocks, leaving domestic mid-to-small-cap stocks behind. If you look at only one and conclude 'the Korean market is doing well,' you will misjudge what is actually happening.
There's another index called KOSPI200. It consists of the 200 representative stocks of KOSPI and serves as the underlying asset for futures and options. Institutional trading and program trading move based on this index, giving it practical significance for understanding supply and demand. It has aspects similar to the role of TOPIX in Japan.
You also need to pay attention to the price limits. Korea limits price movements to plus or minus 30 percent of the previous day's closing price. It's not an absolute value table based on price tiers like in Japan. This means stocks can move up to 30 percent in a single day, regardless of their price level. For small-to-mid-cap stocks on KOSDAQ, it's not uncommon for them to hit this limit, so if you're viewing this with the same sense as Japan's upper and lower price limits (stop-high/stop-low), you will underestimate the magnitude of the fluctuations.
By the way, Korean media often refer to index levels using the expression 'line (線),' like '7000 line.' This is similar to the Japanese expression 'around XX yen (〇〇円台).'
There is also a market called KONEX for smaller companies, but its liquidity is low, and general foreign investors rarely have opportunities to interact with it.韓国市場のニュースを読むと、必ず二つの指数が並んで出てきます。「コスピは上昇、コスダックは下落」という書き方です。日経平均とTOPIXのような関係を想像すると、実態を取り違えます。
日本の二指数は同じ市場を別の計算方法で測ったものですが、韓国のKOSPIとKOSDAQは市場そのものが違います。
KOSPIは韓国取引所の本則市場です。サムスン電子、SKハイニックス、現代自動車といった大企業が上場しています。指数としてのKOSPIはこの市場全体の時価総額加重指数で、日本でいえばプライム市場に近い位置づけです。
KOSDAQは中堅・ベンチャー企業向けの市場です。バイオ、ゲーム、二次電池関連の中小型株が多く、値動きが激しい傾向があります。グロース市場に近いと説明されますが、韓国市場全体に占める存在感はグロースより大きく、報道でも常にKOSPIと対等に扱われます。
この二つが頻繁に乖離します。特に半導体主導の相場では、KOSPIだけが強くKOSDAQが弱いという展開がよく起きます。海外投資家の資金が大型株に集中する一方、内需系の中小型株が置き去りになるためです。片方だけを見て「韓国市場は好調」と判断すると、実際に起きていることを見誤ります。
もう一つ、KOSPI200という指数があります。KOSPIの代表的な200銘柄で構成され、先物・オプションの原資産になっています。機関投資家の売買やプログラム売買はこの指数を基準に動くため、需給を読むうえで実務的な意味を持ちます。日本でいうTOPIXの役割に近い部分があります。
値幅制限にも注意が必要です。韓国は前日終値に対して上下30パーセントという率で制限します。日本のように価格帯別の絶対額テーブルではありません。つまり株価水準にかかわらず1日で最大30パーセント動きます。KOSDAQの中小型株ではこの幅を使い切る展開が珍しくないので、日本株のストップ高・ストップ安の感覚で見ていると変動の大きさを過小評価します。
なお韓国メディアは指数水準を「7000線」のように線という表現で語ります。日本語の「〇〇円台」に近い言い回しです。
このほかKONEXという中小企業向け市場もありますが、流動性が低く一般の外国人投資家が触れる機会はほとんどありません。
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