South Korea has again failed to win developed market status from global index provider Morgan Stanley Capital International(MSCI). 

In an annual market review released on Thursday, the global provider of investment data and analytic services kept South Korea in the “emerging market” group.

MSCI classifies countries based on economic development, size and liquidity of equity markets, as well as market accessibility for foreign investors.

To make it onto the “developed markets” index requires more than one year on the watchlist for the top classification.

MSCI said that while it welcomes recently proposed measures to improve foreign investors’ access to the Korean stock market, sudden changes in market rules are not desirable, pointing out the total ban on short selling implemented last November.

MSCI said potential reclassifications require that all issues have been addressed, reforms have been fully implemented and market participants have had ample time to thoroughly evaluate the effectiveness of the changes.