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President Lee Jae-myung reviews documents during the 11th senior secretaries’ meeting at the presidential office in Yongsan, Seoul, on September 18. / Source: Yonhap News

President Lee Jae-myung’s exchange-traded fund (ETF) investments have generated a 26.4% return, amounting to a profit of 11.6 million won, the presidential office announced Thursday.

Spokesperson Kang Yoo-jung said the disclosure was intended to underscore the sincerity of Lee’s campaign pledge to raise the KOSPI to 5,000 points. “President Lee aims to boost the appeal of the domestic stock market to accelerate the shift of capital from real estate to equities,” Kang said. “He also plans to actively promote Korea’s market attractiveness to foreign investors during overseas visits.”

According to Kang, since Lee took office, the KOSPI index has risen 25% and the KOSDAQ 14%. She attributed the gains to “shareholder-friendly policies,” such as expanding directors’ fiduciary duties to shareholders and toughening penalties for unfair trading, which she said signal structural improvement in Korea’s markets.

In May, Lee had announced via a YouTube livestream that he would invest 100 million won in Korea’s stock market during his presidency, beginning with a 40 million won ETF purchase. He pledged to invest an additional 1 million won monthly for five years.

Kang said Lee invested 20 million won each in KOSPI200 and KOSDAQ150 ETFs as a lump sum, while also putting 4 million won into KOSPI200 ETFs on an installment basis between May and August, bringing his total investment to 44 million won so far.