South Korea extends ban on short-selling

Caving to pressure from retail traders, South Korea's ban on short-selling has been extended through May 2021. Financial regulators in South Korea initially placed a local ban on short sales in March 2020 along with other countries like Malaysia, Thailand, France, Spain, Italy, and Belgium. Economies around the world decided to curb short-selling as the COVID-19 pandemic began destabilising markets. While most countries quickly lifted the bans, South Korea decided in August 2020 to extend, but only until March 2021.

Following the GameStop saga, in South Korea, where retail investors dominate stock trading (accounting for 70% of the market), traders drove around in a battle bus, covered in anti-short selling slogans. Around 30,000 Korean traders reportedly came together on an online forum to drive up the prices of stocks like Celltrion that are often targeted by foreign short-sellers. Some local politicians rallied behind retail investors who were calling for an extension of the ban.