KOSPI vs KOSDAQ vs KOSPI 200: What Each Korean Stock Index Tracks

Korea's stock market is usually reported through three numbers: the KOSPI, the KOSDAQ and the KOSPI 200. All three are calculated by the Korea Exchange (KRX), but each one measures a different slice of the market. For a foreign investor, that difference decides what a headline move, or an index fund, actually covers.

On Nov. 6, 2026, the KOSPI closed at 5,059.69, down 6.02%, and the KOSDAQ closed at 644.27, down 5.03%, the Seoul Economic Daily and Financial News reported. The two readings sit far apart because the indices started from different bases, not because one market is cheaper than the other.

Funds sold abroad may follow none of the three. BlackRock's iShares MSCI South Korea ETF, listed in the U.S. since May 2000, tracks an MSCI index, according to an Aug. 12, 2026 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Here's what you need to know.

What Is the KOSPI?

The KOSPI, short for Korea Composite Stock Price Index, is the index for the KRX main board, which is also called the KOSPI market. The KRX describes the KOSPI as the leading index of the Korean stock market.

It is calculated from market capitalization, the total market value of a company's listed shares, so the largest companies move it the most. The index uses a base of 100 on Jan. 4, 1980, according to the KRX, and it was launched on Jan. 4, 1983, the Korea Herald reported.

The main board opened in 1956 with 12 listed companies and was opened to foreign investors in 1992, according to the KRX. Its listings include Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor and LG Electronics. On Sept. 11, 2026, 831 stocks were listed there, the Korea Herald reported.

The KOSPI first passed 1,000 points in March 1989, 2,000 in July 2007 and 3,000 in January 2021, according to the Korea Herald. It topped 9,000 in June 2026, the Herald reported, before falling back to 5,059.69 on Nov. 6, 2026.

KOSPI vs KOSDAQ: How Do the Two Markets Differ?

The KOSDAQ is both a second stock market and the index that tracks it. It opened in July 1996 to raise money for startups and small and midsize companies in information technology, biotechnology and other technology fields, according to the KRX. It was modeled on the U.S. Nasdaq, the Asia Business Daily reported.

Getting listed is easier. The KRX says the KOSDAQ's listing requirements are more relaxed than the KOSPI's, that its review weighs a company's growth potential, and that it offers exceptional requirements for technology growth companies.

The KOSDAQ opened with 341 listed companies, the Asia Business Daily reported, and had 1,811 stocks on Sept. 11, 2026, more than twice the KOSPI's 831, according to the Korea Herald. Yet in February 2026, the combined value of all KOSDAQ companies was smaller than that of SK hynix alone, the Asia Business Daily reported.

Large companies have tended to move on. NCSoft, Naver, Kakao and Celltrion have all left the KOSDAQ, the Asia Business Daily reported in February 2026. Alteogen, then the KOSDAQ's second-largest company by market value, was planning to switch its listing to the KOSPI.

"KOSDAQ’s long-term performance has been weaker than that of the KOSPI," said Kim Hakgyun, Head of Research at Shinyoung Securities, as translated by the Asia Business Daily.

The KOSDAQ index now uses a base of 1,000 on July 1, 1996. It began with a base of 100. In January 2004, the base was raised to 1,000 and applied back to 1996, which multiplied every earlier reading by 10, the Asia Business Daily reported.

On that scale, the KOSDAQ reached 2,834.40 on March 10, 2000, at the peak of the IT bubble. Its close of 644.27 on Nov. 6, 2026 left it below its 1996 starting level.

What Is the KOSPI 200?

The KOSPI 200 is a narrower index of 200 large companies listed on the KOSPI market. It was launched in 1994 with a base of 100 on Jan. 3, 1990, according to the KRX and the Korea Economic Daily's economic dictionary.

It is the underlying index for KOSPI 200 futures, listed on May 3, 1996, and KOSPI 200 options, listed on July 7, 1997. The KRX says the index is also used for exchange-traded products, equity-linked securities and index funds. Both contracts have a night session from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. in Seoul.

The KOSPI 200 counts only free-float market capitalization. Free float means shares that actually trade, excluding those held by major shareholders or under trading restrictions, the Asia Business Daily explained. A company with a large controlling stake therefore carries less weight than its full market value suggests.

Membership is reviewed twice a year. Changes are usually made based on closing prices on the June and December expiration dates for futures and options, the Asia Business Daily reported.

In the review that took effect on June 12, 2026, four companies joined the index and four left. Afterward, the 200 members accounted for 94.9% of the KOSPI market's total capitalization, the Asia Business Daily reported, citing the Korea Exchange.

Simply put, the KOSPI 200 holds nearly all of the main board's value in about a quarter of its stocks. It weighs each company only by the shares investors can actually buy.

Where Do the KOSDAQ 150 and KRX 300 Fit In?

The KOSDAQ 150 plays a similar role for the growth market. The KRX launched it in 2015, it holds 150 companies, and it is the underlying index for KOSDAQ 150 futures.

After a June 2026 review that replaced 16 stocks, the KOSDAQ 150 accounted for 61.2% of the KOSDAQ's market capitalization, the Asia Business Daily reported. That share is far smaller than the KOSPI 200's because the KOSDAQ's value is spread across many more small companies.

The KRX 300 combines both markets. Its first list, published a week before the index's Feb. 5, 2018 launch, had 305 companies: 237 from the KOSPI and 68 from the KOSDAQ, the Korea Herald reported. The index was expected to draw more investment into large KOSDAQ stocks, and the list was to shrink to 300 companies from June 2018.

After the June 2026 review, which replaced 45 stocks, the KRX 300 covered 96.0% of the combined market capitalization of the two markets, according to the Asia Business Daily. KRX 300 futures were listed on March 26, 2018.

The KRX had calculated 1,093 indices as of June 2026. The table compares the five covered in this guide.

Which Index Do Foreign Funds Follow?

Inside Korea, the KOSPI 200 is the index behind KOSPI 200 futures and options and a wide range of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and index funds. Outside Korea, a fund may follow an index from MSCI instead.

BlackRock's iShares MSCI South Korea ETF seeks results that correspond to the MSCI Korea 25/50 Index, according to the Aug. 12, 2026 SEC filing, which covers notes linked to the fund.

MSCI says its main Korea index measures the large and mid cap segments of the market and covers about 85% of the Korean equity universe. On Oct. 30, 2026, it had 74 constituents, with Samsung Electronics at 35.54% and SK hynix at 26.45%, according to MSCI's factsheet.

The 25/50 version applies investment limits that the U.S. Internal Revenue Code imposes on regulated investment companies, according to MSCI. On the same date, its largest weights were SK hynix at 24.24% and Samsung Electronics at 23.26%.

Both MSCI indices are float-adjusted, like the KOSPI 200, but they hold 74 constituents rather than 200. The weights show why the index name matters: the same two chipmakers made up more than 60% of one version and less than half of the other.

For how a foreign individual can now buy Korean shares through a broker at home, see our guide to buying Korean stocks from abroad.

What Should Foreign Investors Watch?

The December 2026 review. The KRX will apply its new industry classification standard, known as KRICS, in the December regular rebalancing of the KOSPI 200 and related sector indices, the Seoul Economic Daily reported on Oct. 28, 2026. The paper said new KOSPI 200 additions were expected to rise to 10 to 12 companies, from four in June 2026, with the revised indices taking effect on Dec. 11, 2026.

"Along with the removal of existing constituents and the addition of new ones, the rebalancing also involves adjusting the weight of individual stocks within the index, so trading demand through ETFs is likely to emerge," said Jang Chi-young, an analyst at Hana Securities, as translated by the Seoul Economic Daily. Market watchers said ETF trading could cluster around the Dec. 10, 2026 futures and options expiry, the paper reported.

A stricter KOSDAQ. In 2026, the Financial Services Commission (FSC), Korea's financial regulator, began an overhaul of the KOSDAQ that includes tougher delisting of poorly performing companies, the Asia Business Daily reported on Feb. 24, 2026.

"For KOSDAQ to make a great leap forward as a market trusted by investors, there must be faster and stricter delisting of insolvent companies," said Kwon Daeyoung, Vice Chairman of the Financial Services Commission, as translated by the Asia Business Daily.

"Removing zombie companies from the stock market is the top priority for the exchange," Jeong Eunbo, Chairman of the Korea Exchange, said at a press briefing, as translated by the Asia Business Daily.

Volatility. The KOSPI topped 9,000 in June 2026 and closed at 5,059.69 on Nov. 6, 2026, after a one-day fall of 6.02%. Because each index weights its members differently, two funds that both invest in Korea can move by quite different amounts on the same day.

Together, the KOSPI measures the main board, the KOSDAQ the growth market and the KOSPI 200 the large caps behind its own futures, options and many index funds, while funds abroad may follow MSCI instead.