[Institutional Funds Absent? KRX After-Hours Market Hits One-Month Mark, 90% of Trades from Retail Investors] Odaily Planet Daily News – The Korea Exchange (KRX) launched its full-market after-hours stock trading platform, which has now been operational for one month. Market experts believe this mechanism enhances trading convenience for investors and allows the market to respond more promptly to post-market information changes. However, it also faces challenges such as an overly high proportion of individual investors, insufficient liquidity, and the need for system improvements. Data shows that during the first week of the after-hours market's operation (September 14–18), individual investors accounted for a staggering 90.4% of trading volume, while foreign and institutional investors made up only 6.7% and 2.6%, respectively. Industry insiders are concerned that the imbalance in market participation structure has become a major issue. An over-reliance on individual investors may lead to insufficient market liquidity and amplify price fluctuations in individual stocks, particularly small-cap stocks and popular thematic stocks. Some brokerage professionals suggest adjusting institutional investment rules and lowering barriers for foreign participation to attract more professional investors into the market. (EToday)