South Korea's main exchange operator will introduce an after-hours trading session starting Monday, allowing investors to buy and sell equities in real-time for four hours following the regular market close. The move is designed to strengthen the bourse's global competitiveness and expand trading opportunities for market participants, according to a statement released on Wednesday.

The post-market session will run from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. local time, complementing the existing regular trading hours of 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The Korea Exchange (KRX) noted that the majority of stocks listed on the benchmark KOSPI index and the KOSDAQ market will be eligible for trading during this extended window.

However, the exchange has excluded exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and exchange-traded notes (ETNs) from the after-hours session, citing concerns over market volatility. The four-hour period will still be subject to existing safeguards, including daily price fluctuation limits for individual stocks and circuit breaker mechanisms designed to curb excessive market swings.

In its announcement, the KRX expressed optimism that the introduction of the extended session would "improve investor access and enhance market competitiveness," describing it as "the first step toward bringing the Korean stock market to a global standard."