KOR

Research Staff

Research Staff

Kang, Sohyun Research Fellow, Head of Capital Markets
Research Field

Profile

TEL
82-2-3771-0821
E-mail
sohyun.kang@kcmi.re.kr
Education
2007 ~ 2011 KAIST Business School Seoul, Korea
Ph.D. in Management Engineering (Finance concentration)
2005 ~ 2007 KAIST Business School Seoul, Korea
M.S. in Management Engineering (Finance concentration)
2003 ~ 2005 Seoul Natioanl University Seoul, Korea
M.A. in Economics (Macroeconomics concentration)
1998 ~ 2003 Seoul National University Seoul, Korea
B.A. in German Language Education and Economics
Professional Experience
2011~ Research Fellow, Korea Capital Market Institute
2009 ~ 2010 Lecturer, Kyung Hee University

Publications

Opinion

Female Participation in the Labor Market and Fertility Rates: Insights from the Research of a Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences / Dec. 05, 2023
The 2023 Nobel Prize in Economic Science was awarded to Professor Claudia Goldin for her contributions to enhancing understanding of the factors influencing female labor force participation and the gender earnings gap. Over the past century, the gender earnings gap has stemmed from various factors such as discriminatory laws, stereotyped gender roles, limited educational opportunities and, constraints on job choices. However, even after these factors are controlled, the gender earnings gap still exists. Professor Goldin attributes this persistent disparity to the division of labor between men and women after childbirth and the intrinsic characteristics of jobs. Men tend to choose high-intensity jobs accompanied by high income, while women often take greater childcare responsibilities and opt for flexible work arrangements. This structural imbalance has resulted in the gender earnings gap. Korea experiences the highest gender earnings gap among OECD countries while suffering from lowest-low fertility. Selection of flexible works or career interruptions can widen such a gap and increase the opportunity costs associated with childbirth, further accelerating the decline in fertility rates. The current situation urgently calls for the reform of the labor incentive structure to effectively address intertwined issues such as the gender earnings gap, career interruptions for women and fertility rates. In other words, there is a growing need to transform the labor market structure that highly values long working hours and excessive workloads. This reform is not only essential to improve gender equality but also serves as a crucial task for efficiently deploying national talent and ensuring economic sustainability.
Best Execution Obligations for Retail Investors in Major Countries and Implications / Jun. 27, 2023
The best execution obligation provision under the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act prescribes that a financial investment business entity should establish the best execution criteria and execute a client’s order on the best terms. In the current single trading market structure, the process of finding the most favorable conditions for clients hardly makes any meaningful difference, and the best execution compliance policies for each financial investment business entity has not yet been put in place. After the transition to a multi-market structure, however, best execution will serve as an important factor in affecting the level of investor protection and determining the quality of the entire market. For this reason, it is necessary to prepare for a multi-market environment by clearly understanding the duty of best execution and devising a specific compliance plan. In particular, considering a high share of retail investors and their active investment in the Korean securities market, the major challenge is to establish the best execution criteria that can protect retail investors and, at the same time, reduce the burden on financial investment business entities. In this regard, it is worth referring to the regulation of major countries that distinguishes retail clients from professional clients and establishes the best execution policy for retail clients with a focus on price and direct costs.
Japan’s Best Execution Policy: Reform and Implications / Dec. 06, 2022
This year the plan of establishing Korea’s first Alternative Trading System (ATS) is underway. The arrival of the ATS is expected to facilitate the progressive evolvement of trading markets. But it is notable that the ATS itself hardly guarantees brisk competition and greater market efficiency. Japan adopted the Proprietary Trading System (PTS) earlier than Korea but experienced a lack of transactions executed via PTSs for more than 20 years after the new system was introduced. Discriminatory regulations on PTSs may hamper the development of alternative trading venues including the 5% takeover-bid regulation, the ban on auction-based price discovery and restrictions on margin trading. But a greater problem lies in the best order execution criteria prepared by securities firms which has encouraged them to focus on transactions via the traditional exchange. In response, Japan’s Financial Services Agency has come up with the revised Best Execution Policy this year to ensure meaningful competition between trading markets, which is set to come into force in January 2023. The case of Japan could offer implications for Korea’s trading market that is about to see the emergence of the first ATS. The Best Execution Policy to be devised by each securities firm in preparation for market fragmentation would have a significant impact on the market share of the ATS and competition between trading venues. In this respect, securities firms should design the Best Execution Policy to help enhance services through fair and efficient competition among trading markets and provide benefits to market participants.
Disposal of Treasury Shares by Listed Companies in Korea / Jun. 28, 2022
Share repurchases surged in Korea in early 2020 as stock prices plunged amid the Covid-19 crisis. Since then, stock prices have recovered faster than expected, resulting in a decline in share repurchases and remarkable growth of disclosures about treasury share disposal. A stock buyback aims primarily at stabilizing share prices and enhancing shareholder value while the repurchased shares are used for a range of purposes. About 2/3 of disclosures of treasury share disposal stated that disposal was intended to reward employee performance and 1/4 of such disclosures were conducted to secure surplus funds and improve financial structure by selling overvalued shares. The discretionary use of treasury shares is guaranteed by law and thus, constitutes a legal business activity but can hardly be viewed as positive in terms of shareholder payout. The shares repurchased for securing operating funds and improving financial structure tend to be disposed of through off-hours block trading and become immediately available in the market. If an employee sells the treasury shares received as performance pay to the market, it is likely to limit the effect of boosting shareholder payout. In addition, if treasury stocks are used in a direction favorable to management or controlling shareholders in the process of strategic alliances or corporate mergers, the interests of minority shareholders could be infringed upon.More recently, treasury shares are being disposed along with increasing share repurchases, which requires further financial research and additional measures to supplement the existing legal framework. In this respect, a systematic and consistent review of relevant regulations should be conducted to close legal loopholes.

Seminar Presentation

관련 세미나 이미지
2014 Jun 12
Dividend Policy and Investment (Korean)
  • Presenter Research Fellow Kang, Sohyun
관련 세미나 이미지
2014 Jan 15
Capital Market Trends and Outlook: Stock Market (Korean)
  • Presenter Research Fellow Kang, Sohyun
관련 세미나 이미지
2013 Nov 08
Financial Support Policy for Female Entrepreneurs: Current State and Challenges (Korean)
  • Presenter Research Fellow Kang, Sohyun

Research performance

[PUBLICATIONS] 
1. Information Content of Adjusted Implied Volatility in the KOSPI 200 Index Options Market (with Byung Jin Kang and Sun-Joong Yoon), 2009. Korean Journal of Futures and Options, 17 (4), 75-103. 

[WORKING PAPERS] 
1. Who is the Best Contributor to Recovery of Market Efficiency in the Korean Stock Market? (with Jangkoo Kang) 
Presented at the Eurasia Business and Economics Society Conference, 2010 
2. Does Trading Volume matter to Price Discovery? (with Jangkoo Kang and Robert I. Webb) 
Presented at the Korean Finance Association Joint Conference, 2011 
3. The Information Content of Treasury Auctions for Treasury Futures Prices (with Jangkoo Kang and Robert I. Webb) 
4. The effect of Order imbalances on Individual Stock returns of KOSPI200 (with Hokyung Park and Jangkoo Kang) 
Presented at the Korean Finance Association Joint Converence, 2010 
5. ITMs versus OTMs (with Sun-joong Yoon) 
Presented at the Asia-Pacific Association of Derivatives Meetings, 2010 
6. Common and Local Factors in Volatility Risks: Evidence from S&P 500 and KOSPI 200 Index Options (with Sun-Joong Yoon)