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Lee Jae-myung, presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, who also serves as chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), attend a meeting with leaders of the nation’s five major economic groups at the KCCI headquarters in Seoul on May 8. / National Assembly Press Corps

Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung said on May 8 that it is “theoretically possible” for the KOSPI index to reach 5,000 within five years.

Speaking during a live economic talk show titled Real Economy Talk, Talk Live, held in Seoul’s Yeongdeungpo District, Lee responded to a panelist's question on the possibility of hitting KOSPI 5000, saying, “Frankly, the Korean stock market is undervalued.”

He pointed to several issues holding the market back, citing geopolitical risk on the Korean Peninsula and, above all, “a lack of transparency.”

Recalling his personal experience, Lee said, “In the past, I invested in small-cap stocks and lost everything during the IMF financial crisis. After that, I stuck to the textbook strategy of long-term investment in blue-chip stocks and eventually recovered my losses and gained profit.”

However, he noted that even blue-chip long-term investment no longer guarantees safety. “Recently, even strong companies have been hollowed out through spin-offs, turning them into low-value stocks. In such a market, people lose trust and exit rather than invest.”

Lee also criticized the lack of accountability for stock manipulation. “Even today, when I look at the charts, I can tell stock manipulation is happening—but no one gets punished,” he said. “If we normalize just a few things—market instability, regressive corporate governance, and the geopolitical situation—then hitting KOSPI 5000 is theoretically within reach.”

He warned that without addressing these structural problems, “we may continue to live with the index stuck around 2,500, constantly under threat of falling below 2,000.”