Chairman Chung Ji-won of the Korea Exchange.

The Korea Exchange (KRX) set up the National Welfare Foundation in 2011 to help multinational families as well as remodel the welfare facilities for senior citizens, among its diverse social service activities.

The foundation provided 28.4 billion won in scholarships to 745 students in college, high and middle school students from multi-national families and the economically distressed around the country to give them a level playing field as they grow up.

The foundation selected 90 high school students, including those from specialized high schools, in the first half of this year, and it will select 40 college students in the second half for scholarships. The college students will be given the scholarships for two years, while high school students will get them throughout their school years until graduation so they can concentrate on their studies.

The foundation has also been providing diverse support to students such as workshops, lecture sessions and joint social services so that they can find what they want to do later when they become adults, in addition to boosting their self-esteem, as the scholarship students of the KRX.

The foundation has also been helping unmarried youths and children living in children’s homes, as well as those unable to go to schools to pass government examinations, to secure academic degrees.

They are given online lectures and books to study until they pass the examinations, and the ratio of their success stands at 85 percent, which is much higher than those students who attended schools. From this year, the foundation expanded the number of children’s homes under its support to 10.

The foundation got the Educational Messena Tower from the Busan Metropolitan City 6 years in a row - from 2012 to 2017 - in recognition of its scholarships and education support, in addition to the government citation, the Education Ministry’s Education Grand Award, among the diverse awards.

Officials of the KRX foundation said they will continue to share the profits to help boost the happiness index of Korea so that the educational contributions made by the KRX will continue to be a great help to students in need.

The Korea Stock Exchange was integrated into the Korea Exchange after a 2005 merger that brought together the Korea Stock Exchange, the KOSDAQ, and the Korea Futures Exchange.
It is one of the largest exchanges found in Asia. As of 2018, the exchange had listed 2194 companies with a combined market capitalization of $1.9 trillion.

Normal trading sessions look the same as other major stock markets around the world. Trading opens at 9 a.m. and closes at 3:30 in the afternoon. The market is open all days of the week except Saturday, Sunday and holidays determined well in advance.

The Korea Stock Exchange is a division of the much larger Korea Exchange that includes a stock exchange, futures market, and stock market. Today, investors can trade various instruments on the exchange like stocks, bonds, ETFs, and real estate investment trusts (REITS).

US investors seeking exposure to the Korean market can gain it through exchange traded funds. The iShares MSCI South Korea Index listed under the ticker symbol EWY tracks the investment results of an index on the South Korean market. This targeted access to Korean stocks extends to large and mid-sized companies.

Some of the greatest risks to the Korea Stock Exchange include geopolitical tensions with its neighbor to the north and potential setbacks in technology, financials or automakers – three of the largest sectors in Korea.

A scene from when KRX Dream Students got their scholarship certificates at KRX head office in Busan some time in August, 2018. (Photos: KRX)