Global investors have argued that South Korea should be a developed market, pointing out the country has a higher GDP than Portugal, a developed market, but MSCI has frequently cited the lack of offshore convertibility of the won as one reason for keeping South Korea as an emerging market.
The Horizons Korea KOSPI 200 ETF (NYSEArca: HKOR) is another ETF to monitor on a potential upgrade of South Korea’s market status. HKOR is the only U.S.-listed South Korea ETF that acts as a proxy for the Kospi 200, South Korea’s equivalent of the S&P 500. The Kospi 200, HKOR’s underlying index, is the most widely used Korean stock benchmark used in Korea, as well as the rest of Asia. [South Korea ETFs Could Shoot Higher]
Home to 200 stocks, HKOR has nearly twice the number of holdings as does EWY. HKOR excludes preferred shares, which are featured in EWY, according to issuer data. HKOR is up 6.3% since its early March debut.
iShares MSCI South Korea Capped ETF
