UPDATE 1-S.Korea official says winning MSCI inclusion not primary goal

South Korea's vice regulator chief said on Friday winning a developed-market status in global index provider MSCI Inc's indexes is not the government's primary goal as weeding out illegal practices in short-selling is more important. South Korea on Nov. 5 said it is banning stock short-selling until June 2024 to improve rules and systems, inviting criticism that it will make the market less transparent and reduce liquidity at a time when the government is working to convince MSCI to promote South Korea from an emerging to a developed market in its next annual market classification review.