The Korea Exchange, founded in 1956, has been South Korea’s sole securities exchange for nearly seven decades, until the new secondary stock trading platform named Nextrade opened today at 10am.

The move “is expected to enhance market accessibility and improve liquidity, contributing to the expansion of the stock market,” said Kim Byeong-hwan, chairman of the financial services commission.

The new exchange will be open for longer – 12 hours per day, compared to the Korea Exchange’s 6.5 – and will charge lower fees when compared with the main bourse.

Nextrade’s CEO Kim Hak-soo said the company had “conducted extensive testing to verify the system’s reliability and have implemented institutional safeguards to ensure market stability”.

For the next two weeks, trading will be available for 10 listed stocks, all from the benchmark Kospi and the small-cap Kosdaq.

The number of listings will gradually expand, and from March 31 onwards, 800 stocks will be available including major companies such as chipmakers Samsung and SK hynix.

The country’s financial watchdog said the new exchange could help “improve trading convenience for investors,” it said in a statement.

Kim Dae-jong, a business professor at Sejong University, told AFP that South Korea was simply playing catch-up with other advanced economies.

“Multiple stock exchange platforms are already in place in many advanced countries worldwide, and South Korea is now following suit.

“Having multiple exchanges instead of a single monopoly increases competition, lowers transaction costs, and extends trading hours into the late evening,” Kim said.

He said this increased competition benefits consumers, as it drives down transaction fees and improves overall market conditions.