The world’s top-performing stock market still isn’t a developed market. Here’s why, according to the MSCI chief

People walking through the neon lit night streets of Sinchon in the heart of Seoul, South Korea’s vibrant capital city. Fotovoyager | E+ | Getty Images There is one key issue standing in the way of South Korea obtaining developed-market status, MSCI's CEO said Thursday, after the equity index provider maintained the country's emerging market classification. "South Korea is one of the most developed markets on the planet," Henry Fernandez, CEO of MSCI , told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe." "Economically, technologically, society-wise, et cetera. [But] our big focus is on the functioning of the equity markets, and in that respect, they exhibit a large number of attributes of emerging markets." South Korea's Kospi index — home to shares of some of the world's leading tech companies, including Samsung and SK Hynix — was the best-performing equity index in the world in 2025, and has surged 112% so far this year. Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon Kospi index But a key issue holding the country back from a classification upgrade, according to Fernandez — trading restriction imposed on the Korean won . "When you want to buy and sell equities in the U.K., in France, in Germany, in Japan, in the U.S. …