The Korea Composite Stock Price Index or KOSPI (Korean: 한국종합주가지수) is the index of all common stocks traded on the Stock Market Division—previously, Korea Stock Exchange—of the Korea Exchange. It is the representative stock market index of South Korea, analogous to the S&P 500 in the United States.

KOSPI was introduced in 1983 with the base value of 100 as of 4 January 1980. It is calculated based on market capitalization. As of 2007, KOSPI's daily volume is hundreds of millions of shares, valued at trillions of won.

KOSPI was introduced in 1983, replacing the Dow-style KCSPI (Korea Composite Stock Price Index).^{[citation needed]}

For years, KOSPI moved below 1,000, peaking above 1,000 in April 1989, November 1994, and January 2000. On 17 June 1998, KOSPI recorded its largest one-day percentage gain of 8.50% (23.81 points), recovering from the bottom of the Asian financial crisis. On 12 September 2001, KOSPI had its largest one-day percentage drop of 12.02% (64.97 points) just after 9/11. On 28 February 2005, KOSPI closed at 1,011.36, plunging to 902.88 in April. However, unlike previous bull traps, it kept moving upward, breaking the long-standing 1,000-point resistance level.^{[citation needed]}

In November 2005, the index's Korean name was officially changed to Koseupi jisu (코스피지수).^{[citation needed]}

On 24 July 2007, KOSPI broke 2,000 level for the first time. On 25 July it closed at 2,004.22. On 20 August 2007, the index recovered 93.20 (5.69%), its largest one-day point gain, after the U.S. Federal Reserve lowered the discount rate. On 16 October 2008, the index dropped 126.50 (9.44%), after the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 7.87%.^{[citation needed]}

On 23 November 2020, the index broke the record set in 2018 for the first time at 2,602.59 points, after the coronavirus pandemic of 2020 plunged the KOSPI to a low in March.^[1]

Starting from February 24, 2020,^[2] the index dropped continuously during the COVID-19 pandemic. As of March 15, the KOSPI closed at 1,771.44, prompting the Financial Supervisory Commission to impose a six-month ban on short-selling, the first such drastic action in nearly nine years.^[3]

The following is a timeline showing the rise of the KOSPI over the course of Korean stock market history.

The following table shows the annual development of the KOSPI since 1981.^[4][5]

As of February 2024, KOSPI has over 880 components.

• KOSPI 200, KOSPI 100, and KOSPI 50
• LargeCap, MidCap, and SmallCap indices based on market capitalization
• KOGI corporate governance index
• KODI dividend index
• Industry indices like chemicals, electrical & electronic equipments, transport equipment, or banks.
• KRX 100 and other KRX indices which take into account both stock markets of Korea Exchange (KRX) — Stock Market Division and KOSDAQ Division

To trade futures and options contracts listed on KRX, a foreign investor may designate custodian banks as standing proxies (through custodian bank agreements and standing proxy agreements to facilitate trading).^{[citation needed]}

A custodian bank as a standing proxy opens accounts at foreign exchange banks and futures companies, deposits, and withdrawals investors' money and monitors investors' properties for them. A foreign investor should designate foreign exchange banks through a foreign currency exchange agreement to execute his foreign exchange transactions and transfers. Most foreign exchange banks also do custodian bank and standing proxy operations. A foreign investor should designate securities and futures companies to trade futures and options traded on KRX.^{[citation needed]}

• CNX Nifty
• Hang Seng Index
• KOSDAQ
• KOSPI 200
• Nikkei 225
• SENSEX
• SSE Composite
• TAIEX