💼 Kiwoom Securities Enters Retirement Pension, Is It Truly Good News? - 2026.06.01

Hello, shareholders. I'm Ddang-kong, digging into the flip side of fundamentals.

Today (June 1st), Kiwoom Securities closed at 384,000 won, up 3.64% from the previous day. The trading volume was around 77,865 shares. On May 28th, it slid to 371,000 won (-5.12%) with institutions net selling 17.47 billion won, showing volatility, but it seems to be staging a bullish atmosphere again. However, is this upward trend purely based on fundamentals, is that really the case? It's a point where questions arise.

💼 Entering the Retirement Pension Market, Can It Be Verified?

Kiwoom Securities officially launched its retirement pension service on June 1st ^[1]. They set the Defined Benefit (DB) commission at the industry's lowest level and mentioned they would waive the Individual Retirement Pension (IRP) commission if it falls below certain criteria ^[1].

It's a strategy to suck in new funds like a black hole by leveraging their existing retail strengths, but will this directly lead to long-term ROE improvement? Considering the initial marketing costs and system infrastructure maintenance fees, there is a risk that it might actually damage the profit margin in the short term. From a short-to-mid term swing perspective, until the actual profit contribution of the retirement pension sector is printed in numbers, it's necessary to stay vigilant, leaving open the possibility of a value trap.

📉 IB Defense and Research Confidence, Grounds for Valuation Expansion?

In the Investment Banking (IB) sector, they acted as a co-lead manager for Korean Air's corporate bond issuance, successfully drawing in 1.114 trillion won in funds ^[2]. They are also actively voicing their opinions in the research sector, significantly raising the target price of LG Corp from 115,000 won to 200,000 won, citing their new business capabilities in AI and robotics ^[3].

Sourcing large deals and showing off research influence is positive. However, amidst the real estate PF risks and macro volatility pressing down on the entire securities industry, can the success of individual deals justify a multiple rerating? Even in a bullish atmosphere, to present a bearish scenario, the current stock price rebound might be a temporary supply-demand concentration rather than a structural improvement in fundamentals. Ddang-kong views that at the current stock price level, rather than hasty optimism, it is reasonable to classify it as a candidate for profit-taking trim and focus on risk management.

🛑 Defending the Retail No.1 Spot, Cost Control is Key

Meanwhile, to communicate with financial consumers, they are recruiting 50 people for the '20th Customer Panel' until June 4th ^[4]. It's likely part of their efforts to improve services to protect their top spot in retail brokerage ^[4]. Customer-friendly moves are good, but ultimately, whether all this can lead to SG&A cost control and operating margin defense will be the core fundamental indicator.

The more the market cheers, the more we need to coldly calculate PBR and earnings stamina. I'll be back next time with cold facts and numbers.

📰 Reference News (4)

1

Kiwoom Securities Enters Retirement Pension Market... 'IRP Fees Waived if Below Threshold'

네이버뉴스 · 2026.06.01

📰 View original

2

[Market In] Korean Air's Corporate Bond Bookbuilding a Success... Attracts 1.1 Trillion Won in Demand

네이버뉴스 · 2026.06.01

📰 View original

3

[Closing Bell] LG Group Stocks Rally on Anticipation of 'Jensen Huang's Visit'

네이버뉴스 · 2026.06.01

📰 View original

4

Kiwoom Securities to Listen to Customers... Recruiting 50 Members for 20th Customer Panel

네이버뉴스 · 2026.06.01

📰 View original