The pharmaceutical company Il Sung IS, listed on the securities market, has seen a significant increase in transaction volume since the beginning of the new year. On the 6th and 7th, the stock price rose sharply, attracting investor interest.
Along with the rise in stock prices, foreign securities firm Korean IMC also attracted investor interest as it appeared on the buying and selling windows. The unfamiliar securities firm has been marked as a major trading window for general investors.
When heavy selling occurred at the Korean IMC window on the 6th and 7th, Il Sung IS's stock price rose relatively sharply, raising suspicions among investors that the foreign securities firm manipulated the stock price through wash trading.
Until the end of last year, P&H Tech's stock price had significantly dropped, but since the new year, Korean IMC securities has repeatedly appeared as a transaction window. Coincidentally, P&H Tech's stock price rose without any particular materials, putting Korean IMC securities in the spotlight among investors. P&H Tech's stock price increased from 7,800 won at the end of last year to the 8,700 won range on the 9th.
Some individual investors raise suspicions that Korean IMC securities disrupt the market with high-frequency trading and are taking a vigilant stance by issuing warnings about Korean IMC.
To conclude, Korean IMC securities played a role in providing liquidity to the stock market and assisting investors' transactions. Authorities have determined that the stock price movements are unrelated to Korean IMC's liquidity provision activities. In the case of KOSDAQ company Nature Cell, although the Korean IMC window ranked high in both selling and buying, there were no peculiar trends in the stock price movement.
Korean IMC securities has acted as a market maker designated by the Korea Exchange. The foreign securities firm based in the Netherlands obtained its securities business license in 2021 and entered the domestic market. At that time, the Financial Services Commission noted that it had been 3 years and 6 months since a foreign securities company entered the country, announcing that it would take charge of market-making duties in the domestic stock market. Although brokerage is a primary operation in the domestic securities industry, it is one of the areas of operation for securities firms.
The market-making system, introduced to activate transactions in the domestic stock market, involves securities firms presenting buying and selling quotes to facilitate smooth transactions for investors. The Korea Exchange selects market makers from qualified securities firms and assigns those that require liquidity based on transaction performance.
Although it is unrelated to market disruptions that attract prices in one direction by buying or selling large quantities, there are numerous cases of investors misunderstanding market-making activities as unfair practices due to their low understanding.
Particularly when performing market-making roles, there are criticisms that the use of short selling to avoid losses gives excessive privileges. Since November of last year, short selling has been banned across all domestic stock market stocks, but it is exceptionally allowed for market makers. In this regard, financial authorities stated, "This exceptional allowance does not pose a risk of undermining market stability and ultimately enhances the transaction benefits for market participants."
As of the fourth quarter of last year, Korean IMC securities acted as a market maker by closely presenting buying and selling quotes for 153 stocks in the securities market and 185 stocks in the KOSDAQ market. A Korea Exchange official explained, "Thanks to the role of market makers, transactions have increased, and the gap between buying and selling prices has narrowed."