South Korea has come short of making Morgan Stanley Capital International's(MSCI) candidate list of “developed markets” this year.

In an annual market review released on Thursday, the global provider of investment data and analytics services kept South Korea in the “emerging market” group, a status it has held since 1992.

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

The review called for improvements in South Korea's accessibility to foreign markets and registration system for foreign investors, while positively assessing the removal of preregistration requirements for such investors and mandatory regulatory filings in English.

MSCI said it will reassess South Korea's inclusion on the watchlist after monitoring the impact of the expected adjustments.