South Korea's secondary stock market has continued to lose steam, while the main stock market has rallied due to big gains by heavyweight technology stocks, according to the nation's bourse operator Wednesday.

For years, the junior KOSDAQ market has been struggling with a string of accounting scandals and the defection of large-cap stocks to the benchmark KOSPI stock market.

According to the Korea Exchange, the KOSDAQ index has risen 8.83 percent so far this year, compared with a 22.9 percent jump in the KOSPI.

The KOSPI hit a fresh all-time high Tuesday, closing at 2,490.49, while the KOSDAQ closed at 687.21.

Tuesday's gap between the levels of the two bourses marked the third widest since the KOSDAQ was launched, according to the bourse operator.

Byun Jun-ho, head of the research center at Eugene Investment & Securities, said the gap between the two markets has widened because of a boom in the global semiconductor industry that has especially benefitted Samsung Electronics Co. and SK hynix Inc. Those two companies are expected to account for a third of the combined operating profits of firms listed on the KOSPI, Byun said.

Last week, the nation's top financial regulator said authorities will consider giving tax breaks and easing listing rules in order to boost the nation's junior KOSDAQ market.

The aim is to help promising early-stage companies raise funds throughout the stock market for startups and tech stocks, said Choi Jong-ku, chairman of the Financial Services Commission. (Yonhap)