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Jan 15, 2026
- Legislative Ground Established to More Effectively Prevent Suspicious Transactions Linked to Vishing Scams
- The Financial Services Commission announced that a revision bill for the Special Act on the Prevention of Loss Caused by Telecommunication-based Financial Fraud and Refund for Loss passed the National Assembly at a plenary session held on January 15. The amended legislation provides a legal ground for relevant officials and authorities (in finance, telecom services, and investigation) to share and make use of suspicious data on the previously established AI-based Anti-phishing Sharing and Analysis Platform (ASAP). Key Revision Details First, the amended legislation establishes a new term fraud-linked suspicious account to allow the sharing of information for suspicious accounts not only for fraudsters but also for victims. Previously, financial companies were able to share information about the accounts used in frauds and those suspected to have incurred damage, but these were all account information related to fraudsters. Thus, previously, there was no legal ground for financial companies to share information about victims accounts. Second, to make sure a stable operation of the AI-based Anti-phishing Sharing and Analysis Platform (ASAP), the FSC is authorized to designate a data sharing and analysis institution. Based on high levels of data analysis expertise and selection criteria, the FSC will designate a data sharing and analysis institution, which will then establish its own technological, physical, and managerial measures to make sure stability in the sharing of data. The FSC will also have the supervisory authority over this institution to revoke designation and take other steps if it fails to carry out duties properly. Third, under the amended Act, the types of information provided through ASAP are more clearly established to increase predictability. In addition, when fraud-related data is being transmitted to the data sharing and analysis institution, there is no need to acquire consent from the data subject (fraudsters and victims) to facilitate a speedy
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Jan 14, 2026
- Responsibilities Mapping to be Piloted for Large-sized Specialized Credit Finance Businesses and Savings Banks
- The Financial Services Commission announced on January 14 that the responsibilities mapping system will be piloted for large-sized specialized credit finance businesses with total assets of KRW5 trillion or more and savings banks with total assets of KRW700 billion or more. With the amended Act on Corporate Governance of Financial Companies (the Act hereinafter) taking effect from July 3, 2024, banks and financial holding companies (from Jan. 2, 2025), as well as large-sized financial investment companies and insurance companies (from Jul. 2, 2025) have already become subject to the submission of their own responsibilities maps to the Financial Supervisory Service. Pursuant to the Act, large-sized specialized credit finance business with total assets of KRW5 trillion or more and savings banks with total assets of KRW700 billion or more will need to submit responsibilities maps to the FSS by July 2, 2026. Smaller-sized financial investment businesses and insurance companies with total assets below KRW5 trillion will also be subject to the July 2 submission due date. From the time responsibilities maps are submitted to the FSS, the chief executives and other executive officers of financial companies become subject to the duty of internal control oversight and risk management in their lines of work, and may become subject to sanctions if found to be in violation of the internal control oversight duty. In this regard, there have not been sufficient incentives made available previously to encourage financial companies to adopt responsibilities maps in advance prior to the legally mandated submission due date, especially due to concerns over potential sanctions for violation. As such, the FSC and the FSS will pilot the responsibilities mapping system for large-sized specialized credit finance businesses and savings banks prior to the actual enforcement date (July 2, 2026). Those wishing to participate in the pilot program will need to submit their own responsibilities map
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Jan 14, 2026
- Household Loans, December 2025
- Household Loans in 2025 In 2025, the outstanding balance of household loans across all financial sectors went up KRW37.6 trillion (preliminary), growing at a slower rate compared with the end of the previous year (up 2.6 percent up 2.3 percent). * Change (in trillion KRW, y-o-y): +107.5 (2021), -8.8 (2022), +10.1 (2023), +41.6 (2024), +37.6 (2025P) It demonstrates that the ratio of household debt to GDP continues to be on a downward path toward stabilization. * Household debt to GDP ratio (%): 98.7 (2021), 97.3 (2022), 93.0 (2023), 89.6 (2024), 89.3 (Q3 2025) (By Type) In 2025, mortgage loans increased at a slower rate compared with the previous year (up KRW58.1 trillion up KRW52.6 trillion). Other types of loans edged down at a slower rate over the same period (down KRW16.5 trillion down KRW15.0 trillion). (By Sector) Household loans grew at a slower rate in the banking sector compared with a year ago (up KRW46.2 trillion up KRW32.7 trillion). The nonbanking sector saw household loans shifting back up from a decline seen in the previous year (down KRW4.6 trillion up KRW4.8 trillion). Mortgage loans from banks rose at a slower rate compared with the previous year (up KRW52.2 trillion up KRW32.4 trillion). Other types of loans from banks edged back up from a decline seen a year ago (down KRW6.0 trillion up KRW0.3 trillion). Household loans in the nonbanking sector declined in the specialized credit finance (down KRW3.0 trillion), insurance (down KRW1.8 trillion), and savings banks (down KRW0.8 trillion) sectors, but rose in the mutual finance (up KRW10.5 trillion) sector. Household Loans in December 2025 In December 2025, the outstanding balance of household loans across all financial sectors dropped KRW1.5 trillion (preliminary), edging down from the growth of KRW4.4 trillion a month ago and of KRW2.0 trillion in the previous year. (By Type) In December 2025, mortgage loans from banks rose at a slower rate compared with the previous month (up KRW3.1 trillion up KRW2
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Jan 12, 2026
- Standard Information Consent Form in Insurance Industry Updated to Promote Retrocession Contracts
- The Financial Services Commission announced that an update has been made to the standard information consent form in the insurance industry (Jan. 2, 2026) to promote retrocession contracts, which will help insurers spread out risk and enhance stability in claims payouts for policyholders. Retrocession is a reinsurance agreement in which a reinsurer (retrocedent) transfers part or all of its reinsurance risk it has assumed from a primary insurer to another reinsurer (retrocessionaire) for the purpose of managing risks more stably. In order to carry out retrocession transactions, separate consent is required from policyholders for providing information to another reinsurer (retrocessionaire). However, considering the nature of business-to-business (B2B) transactions in reinsurance, it remained difficult for reinsurers to obtain consent directly from policyholders, which has been an impediment for retrocession transactions thus far. In this regard, to promote retrocession contracts, the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service have allowed primary insurers to obtain consent for providing information directly from policyholders in place of reinsurers for retrocession transactions. Following this, the Korea Life Insurance Association and the General Insurance Association of Korea have made an update to their standard information consent form. Key Revision Details With the revised standard information consent form, primary insurers will be able to obtain consent for providing information from policyholders in place of reinsurers for retrocession purposes. The purpose of information use for reinsurers (retrocessionaires) is restricted to retrocession contracts only, permitting them to use information about policyholders only for retrocession transactions purposes. The use of information for other purposes, such as marketing and advertising, will be strictly prohibited. Retrocession contract with an overseas reinsurer may lead to overseas transfer
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Jan 08, 2026
- FSC Outlines Key Measures to Boost Financial Inclusion
- Chairman Lee Eog-weon of the Financial Services Commission presided over the first meeting on propelling a transition to inclusive finance with officials from related public organizations, five major financial holding groups, and private sector experts on January 8. At todays meeting, officials discussed ways to boost financial inclusion going forward through joint efforts from the public and private sectors. A Summary of Remarks by FSC Chairman Following the inauguration of the new administration, emergency assistance measures were provided in the form of New Leap Fund (a long-term debt restructuring program for small merchants and vulnerable debtors) and credit recovery support, which helped to lay the foundation to facilitate a recovery in peoples livelihoods. Building upon this, it is now necessary to propel a transition to inclusive finance, which will help to address more deep-rooted problems facing financially neglected groups, long-term delinquent debtors, and those struggling with excessive debt collection practices. To pursue a sweeping overhaul in finance to make financial services more inclusive, the FSC will focus on the following three policy tasks(a) improving financial access and reducing financial cost burden, (b) providing support for vulnerable groups to help them quickly recover and regain footing, and (c) strengthening financial safety nets. First, to improve financial access and reduce the burden of financing cost, the government and the banking sector will work together to expand the supply of microloan support. The interest rate on a policy-based microloan product (Sunshine Loan) has been already lowered from January this year, and there will be an announcement made in the first quarter for the introduction of various low-interest microloan programs made available for financially neglected and socially vulnerable groups. To promote a spread of inclusive finance in private financial institutions, the supply of the microloan product in the bank
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Dec 29, 2025
- Promoting Measures to Strengthen the Effectiveness of the Stewardship Code
- On December 29, 2025, the Stewardship Code Council, the Korea Institute of Corporate Governance and Sustainability (KCGS), and relevant ministries and agencies including the Financial Services Commission, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Personnel Management, and Korea Post, jointly announced measures to strengthen the effectiveness of the Principles on Institutional Investors Stewardship Responsibilities (hereinafter referred to as the Stewardship Code). The Stewardship Code, a set of principles designed to guide institutional investors that manage assets in fulfilling their stewardship responsibilities, was introduced in December 2016 as a private-sector voluntary code. Over the subsequent 9 years, through December 2025, a total of 249 institutional investors have participated in the Stewardship Code. These include 4 public pension funds, the National Pension Service, the Government Employees Pension Service, the Private School Teachers Pension, and Korea Post, as well as 63 asset management companies. Since its introduction, the Stewardship Code has contributed to more active exercise of shareholder rights by institutional investors. This is evidenced by an increase in the proportion of dissenting votes cast(from 1.84% in March 2016 to 4.59% in March 2024) and a rise in the number of shareholder proposals. However, the effectiveness of the Stewardship Code has been still limited due to the absence of implementation review, insufficient systematic disclosure, and a lack of alignment with global standards. It was not possible to recognize the status of compliance with the Stewardship Code of individual participant as the implementation review was not officially provided. And even when participants reported the Stewardship Code implementation, the reports were posted only on their individual websites, resulting in the limitation of information access as well as the lack of comparability. Moreover, such information was difficult to v
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Dec 29, 2025
- KoFIU Kicks Off Taskforce Meeting to Seek Regulatory Improvements in Anti-money Laundering Framework
- The Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (KoFIU) held the kickoff meeting of the taskforce for revamping rules regarding the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information (the Act hereinafter) on December 29. The taskforce has been organized with goals to upgrade relevant regulations on Koreas anti-money laundering (AML) framework, provide more effective responses against transborder crimes and serious financial frauds, and prepare for a mutual evaluation on AML/CFT with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) scheduled to be held in 2028. At todays meeting, the taskforce went over the regulatory issues that need to be upgraded and discussed operational plans going forward. First, the taskforce plans to seek regulatory improvements regarding virtual asset service providers (VASPs). In this regard, the travel rule, which currently requires VASPs to provide information about users sending and receiving virtual assets when requested to transfer virtual assets worth KRW100 million or more to another VASP, will be expanded to virtual asset transfers of less than KRW100 million. Moreover, the taskforce will work to draw up AML measures in preparation for the impending rules on stablecoins and the ensuing changes in its ecosystem. Second, the taskforce plans to seek regulatory reforms to make domestic AML framework more congruent with global standards in preparation for the FATF mutual evaluation. In line with the FATF recommendations, authorities will seek to introduce a suspension of account activities on suspicious accounts to more effectively cut off the flight of criminal proceeds in the middle of a criminal investigation. Additionally, authorities will consider introducing AML rules for attorneys, certified public accountants, and tax accountants to help make Koreas AML rules more consistent with global standards. Third, the taskforce plans to draw up measures to improve the effectiveness of AML requirements and make the inspection and sanctions
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Dec 23, 2025
- Capital Market Rule Change Strengthening Treasury Stock Disclosure Requirements to Take Effect from December 30
- The Financial Services Commission announced that relevant rule changes regarding the Enforcement Decree of the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act (FSCMA) and subordinate regulations have been approved by the government on December 23. The regulatory improvement intended to strengthen the disclosure duty of listed companies with regard to their acquisition and disposal of treasury stocks to help promote the use of treasury stocks for the purpose of enhancing shareholder value is scheduled to take effect from December 30. In this regard, listed companies will be subject to the revised disclosure rules starting with their 2025 annual business report filing. Key Revision Details First, when the proportion of treasury stock holding is one percent or more of the total volume of stocks issued, listed companies will be required to disclose their treasury stock holding status and future plan twice a year. Previously, the minimum threshold was set at five percent of the total volume of stocks issued, and companies were subject to the treasury stock disclosure duty once a year. Thus, the minimum threshold for treasury stock disclosure will be tightened to one percent of the total volume of stocks issued, so that more listed companies will become subject to the treasury stock disclosure duty for their annual and semi-annual business report filing. In addition, an upgrade will be made to the relevant disclosure form to make sure that companies provide more detailed information about their plans for treasury shares for the upcoming six-month period. Second, listed companies will be required to provide a comparison between their previously announced plans and actual implementation status in their treasury stock disclosure reports. Under the current rules, companies disclose their treasury stock acquisition, disposal, and cancellation plans in their annual business reports but often deviate from their original plans to the surprise of investors, raising problems
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Dec 22, 2025
- FSC Puts Forward Capital Market Reform Plans to Support Sustainable Foundation for Innovative Growth Ecosystem
- Chairman Lee Eog-weon of the Financial Services Commission presided over the third meeting on propelling a transition to productive finance with officials from the venture industry, financial institutions, market infrastructure providers, and experts on December 22. At todays meeting, officials discussed plans for capital market reform initiatives intended to transform capital markets into a key platform for propelling innovative growth. In his opening remarks, FSC Chairman Lee laid out four major policy initiatives put forward by the government. A Summary of Opening Remarks by FSC Chairman Throughout history, some of the key technologies and innovative ventures, such as the Internet, smartphone, and autonomous driving technology, have been born out of bold investment and infrastructure restructuring by the government together with the private sectors inventiveness and push for drive. Capital market constitutes a platform where this type of collaborative effort by the public and private sectors can most effectively result in innovation. Since the market can selectively determine future potential and bear risks to invest in long-term growth, it can serve as the most appropriate and productive platform to push for a productive finance drive. In this regard, the government plans to pursue capital market reform measures intended to boost the efficiency in the functioning of capital market infrastructures and facilitate a more seamless interconnection between the financial sector and innovative companies. First, from a market infrastructure perspective, in order to ensure safety in the transactions of startup and venture stocks, authorities will allow the entry of electronic securities registries specializing in unlisted stocks. With the introduction of electronic registration of securities tailored for small scale and unlisted stocks, there will be increased convenience for stock transactions and management, which will also help startups and venture businesses to raise
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Dec 19, 2025
- FSC Introduces Measures to Boost Confidence and Innovation in KOSDAQ Market
- The Financial Services Commission introduced measures to boost confidence and innovation in the KOSDAQ market at the government work report session held on December 19. The measures are intended to bring about fundamental improvements in the KOSDAQ market by restoring public confidence in the market and reinvigorating it as a platform of growth for innovative companies, thereby spreading the momentum of KOSPI 4,000 throughout all segments of capital markets. Over the years, the KOSDAQ market has grown in terms of the number of listed companies and the value of market capitalization. In comparison to 2005, market capitalization rose 15 times (from KRW32 trillion to KRW489 trillion) and the number of listed firms grew 1.9 times (from 917 companies to 1,731 companies) However, the market has not been able to fully spring back from the lost confidence seen in the post dot-com bubble. As a result, the KOSDAQ index now stands lower than when it was first launched in July 1996 (1,000 pts). Moreover, non-viable companies are not getting delisted in a timely manner, and institutional investors have shown a tendency to avoid investing in the KOSDAQ market. As a key infrastructure for Koreas innovation and its venture ecosystem, the KOSDAQ market is in urgent need of an overhaul to make sure that it can properly function as it should. In this regard, the FSC held a series of meetings with market participants (venture capital firms, startup and venture businesses, institutional investors, and underwriters), academia, and related organizations to gather a variety of opinions before drawing up a set of measures intended to boost confidence and innovation in the KOSDAQ market. The measures consist of the following four key policy directions and seventeen specific tasks(a) strengthening the independence, autonomy, and competitiveness of the KOSDAQ market division, (b) redesigning the listing/delisting system to make the KOSDAQ market more dynamic with easy entry and exit, (c) foste
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Dec 19, 2025
- FSC Plans a Sweeping Overhaul of Finance to Propel a Great Takeoff of the Korean Economy
- The Financial Services Commission presented its work progress and policy agendas going forward in a government work report session jointly held with the Korea Fair Trade Commission on December 19 under the theme of pursuing a sweeping overhaul of finance, fostering a fair economy, and building robust foundations to propel a great takeoff of the economy. At the work report session, Chairman Lee Eog-weon of the Financial Services Commission presented progress and achievements in 2025 and key policy agendas going forward focusing on the vision to seek a sweeping overhaul of finance to make the financial industry more productive, more inclusive, and more reliable. With the pursuit of major transformation in the financial industry, Chairman Lee pledged to help propel a great takeoff of the Korean economy. Achievements in 2025 In the past six months, the FSC has worked relentlessly to help resolve the difficulties in peoples livelihoods and to build a new framework for financial policies. First, in order to quickly facilitate a recovery in peoples livelihoods, which had faced challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic and high interest rates, the FSC took bold steps in providing strong support measures. The establishment of New Leap Fund (Oct. 1) allowed the acquisition, screening, and cancellation of long-term overdue personal debts for 1.13 million individuals without even having these debtors needing to apply for this support. With the provision of credit recovery support in the form of expungement of overdue debt history (Sep. 30), 2.862 million individuals (as of end-Nov.) were able to make a recovery and regain footing financially. The FSC also held meetings with small merchants in twelve different occasions to more closely listen to their needs on the ground and introduced a special financing support plan in the size of KRW10 trillion-plus. Next, the FSC sought to actively manage household debt and contain tariff-related risks in the market, while making all-out efforts
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Dec 16, 2025
- Revised Rules on Payment Gateway Services to Strengthen Protection of Unsettled Funds for Users
- The Financial Services Commission promulgated a revision to the Act on Electronic Financial Transactions (the Act hereinafter) on December 16. The revised law requires payment gateway (PG) services to separately manage the total amount (100 percent) of unsettled funds externally and establishes provisions for more effective management and supervision over PG services. Under the revised Act, PG services will be obligated to externally manage unsettled funds in their entirety for their sellers and users. The revised Act also increases the capital requirements for PG services in accordance with the volume of quarterly payments transactions.In this regard, PG services that have more than KRW30 billion in quarterly payments transactions will be newly required to meet the minimum capital requirement of KRW2 billion. In addition, PG services will be required to re-register the status of major shareholder when there is any change in the status of major shareholder to help prevent disqualified entities from entering the market Additionally, the revised Act establishes a legislative ground for the authorities to issue a corrective order, suspend the operation of business, and revoke business registration for noncompliance, while making PG services subject to the duty of disclosure of information to ensure protection of users. Since these administrative sanctions will take effect immediately from the day of promulgation, the financial authorities will provide adequate information to the industry to encourage compliance. The duty to externally manage unsettled funds and the increased capital requirement will take effect from December 17, 2026 after preparing subordinate statutes to provide further details. However, to facilitate a seamless adjustment in the industry, the authorities will provide relevant guidelines on the external management of unsettled funds for PG services from January next year. * Please refer to the attached PDF for details.
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Dec 15, 2025
- FSC Holds Market Monitoring Meeting and Decides on Continuous Operation of Market Stabilization Programs
- Chairman Lee Eog-weon of the Financial Services Commission presided over a meeting with relevant authorities, research institutions, and market experts on December 15 to review financial market conditions and risk factors going forward. A Summary of FSC Chairmans Remarks In the first half of this year, there were growing anxieties over financial markets due to the Trump administrations tariff policy and uncertainties regarding domestic politics. However, in the second half of the year, the Korean economy and market conditions recovered backed by rigorous policy efforts of the new government and improvement in corporate earnings in the semiconductor sector. Despite this overall sense of stability, there is growing vigilance over domestic financial markets with government bond yields showing an upward movement and the foreign exchange market showing an expanded level of volatility recently. Nonetheless, the Korean economy is sufficiently equipped with the resilience and the policy capacity to respond to crisis situations backed by strong fundamentals. First, domestic financial institutions have been maintaining an adequate level of soundness. Second, Koreas foreign exchange reserve is the ninth largest in the world. Third, credit default swap (CDS) premium in Korea has been brought down significantly from the beginning of this year. In addition, some of the potential risk factors and structural problems for the economy, such as household debt, real estate project finance, and the soundness of nonbank financial institutions, are also being adequately addressed and stably managed through ongoing policy measures. However, since it is possible to see growing market volatility in the future, the FSC will continue to closely work with related authorities to carefully monitor market conditions and take bold and proactive steps to employ market stabilization measures when it becomes necessary. Next year, the FSC will strive to push for major transformation in the financial in
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Dec 11, 2025
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Dec 10, 2025
- Household Loans, November 2025
- In November 2025, the outstanding balance of household loans across all financial sectors increased KRW4.1 trillion (preliminary), rising at a slower pace compared with the previous month (up KRW4.9 trillion). (By Type) Home-backed mortgage loans rose KRW2.6 trillion, growing at a slower pace compared with the previous month (up KRW3.2 trillion). Banks (up KRW2.0 trillion up KRW0.7 trillion) saw the pace of growth decelerating, while nonbanks (up KRW1.2 trillion up KRW1.9 trillion) saw the pace of growth accelerating. Other types of loans rose KRW1.6 trillion, growing at a slower pace compared with the previous month (up KRW1.7 trillion), while credit loans showed a similar level of growth from a month ago (up KRW0.9 trillion up KRW0.9 trillion). (By Sector) In November 2025, household loans in the banking sector rose KRW1.9 trillion, growing at a significantly slower pace compared with the previous month (up KRW3.5 trillion). Banks own mortgage loan products (up KRW1.1 trillion up KRW0.1 trillion), policy-based loans (up KRW0.9 trillion up KRW0.6 trillion), and other types of loans (up KRW1.4 trillion up KRW1.2 trillion) all showed the pace of growth decelerating from the previous month. In the nonbanking sector, household loans increased KRW2.3 trillion, expanding at a faster pace compared with a month ago (up KRW1.4 trillion). Mutual finance businesses (up KRW1.2 trillion up KRW1.4 trillion), insurance companies (up KRW0.1 trillion up KRW0.5 trillion), and specialized credit finance businesses (up KRW0.2 trillion up KRW0.4 trillion) saw the pace of growth accelerating, while savings banks (down KRW0.2 trillion down KRW0.04 trillion) saw the pace of decline slowing down. (Assessment) In November 2025 (up KRW4.1 trillion), the pace of household loan growth decelerated from the previous month (up KRW4.9 trillion) and the same month a year ago (up KRW5.0 trillion), with mortgage loans growing at a slower pace (up KRW3.2 trillion in October up KRW2.6 trillion in Novem
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Dec 08, 2025
- 9th Regular Korea-Japan Financial Shuttle Meeting and 10th IFCF Held in Busan
- The Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service held the 9th annual shuttle meeting of financial authorities with the Financial Services Agency (FSA) of Japan in Busan on December 8. Joint Press Release of the Ninth Regular Korea-Japan Financial Shuttle Meeting (Busan, Korea, December 8, 2025) 1. In celebration of the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between Korea and Japan, the Ninth Regular Korea-Japan Financial Shuttle Meeting was jointly held by the Korea Financial Services Commission (FSC), the Korea Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), and the Japan Financial Services Agency (FSA) in Busan, Korea, on December 8th. The event proceeded as follows: (i) A meeting between FSC Chairman LEE Eog-weon and FSA Commissioner ITO Yutaka; (ii) Congratulatory remarks and a Japan-Korea joint session at the International Financial Cooperation Forum (IFCF); and (iii) A meeting between FSS Governor LEE Chanjin and FSA Commissioner ITO. 2. The heads of the three authorities exchanged their views on the implications of the recent global macroeconomic and financial developments for the financial sectors of both countries. They confirmed with each other the overall direction of key policy agenda items and high-priority policy tasks that would deserve further cooperation among the three authorities. 3. Chairman LEE emphasized the importance of enhancing dialogue between FSC/FSS and FSA high-level officials to facilitate smooth and efficient policy cooperation to better respond to common challenges and opportunities in parallel with matters that would need swift action to preserve the financial stability in the region. He added that the dialogue aims to contribute to strengthening both regulators capacity to cooperate in addressing common policy tasks, including promoting capital markets, digitalizing the financial sector, and responding to aging populations. 4. Commissioner ITO mentioned that the global movement of digitalization s
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Dec 03, 2025
- Capital Market Rules Change Proposed for Establishing Regulations on Business Development Companies
- The Financial Services Commission introduced a revision proposal for the Enforcement Decree of the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act (FSCMA) and supervisory regulations on financial investment business for establishing regulations on business development companies (BDCs) on December 3. This revision proposal prescribes detailed provisions for establishing rules on BDCs under the revised FSCMA (promulgated on September 16, 2025 and scheduled to go into effect on March 17, 2026), while upgrading other regulations on publicly traded funds and financial investment business in general. Key Revision Details Rules regarding the operation of BDCs BDCs will be required to invest 60 percent or more of their total assets in their main investment target, such as unlisted startups or venture businesses, venture investment associations, and KONEX-listed or KOSDAQ-listed businesses. To promote reinvestments after the recovery of initial investment in the venture investment market, BDCs will be permitted to invest in venture associations and KOSDAQ-listed companies. However, in order to prevent the potential of concentration toward certain sectors, only up to 30 percent of investments made in venture associations and KOSDAQ-listed companies each will be counted toward the calculation of the minimum investment requirement of 60 percent. The KOSDAQ-listed companies eligible for investment will be limited to those with a market capitalization of KRW200 billion or less (about 75 percent of KOSDAQ-listed companies). Investment can take the form of either purchasing shares or lending money. Share purchases will be limited to stocks and equity-linked bonds (convertible bonds, exchangeable bonds, and bonds with warrants). The proportion of money lending to total investment on major investment targets should be limited to maximum 40 percent, and the establishment of internal control mechanisms is required to ensure the appropriateness of money lending and the assessment
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Nov 27, 2025
- Revised Rules on Payment Gateway Services to Ensure Safe Protection of Unsettled Funds for Users
- The Financial Services Commission announced that a revision bill for the Act on Electronic Financial Transactions (the Act hereinafter), with strengthened rules on payment gateway (PG) services, was approved by the National Assembly at the plenary session held on November 27. In the wake of large-scale payment failures involving PG services in July 2024, the FSC and related government ministries prepared a set of measures intended to bolster the protection of unsettled funds for users (sellers) and strengthen the oversight and supervisory mechanisms on PG services. The revised rules passed at the National Assembly today include these measures drawn up by the government last year. Key Revision Details First, PG services will be required to separately manage the total amount (100 percent) of unsettled funds externally in the form of deposit, trust, or payment guarantee insurance. In addition, the externally managed unsettled funds will not be allowed for a transfer or to be used as a collateral, or put up for confiscation or setoff by a third party. A priority right to payments will also be introduced as a legal means to ensure the safe protection of unsettled funds for sellers. Additionally, the revised rules establish a legislative ground to impose sanctions and penalties (a) if the unsettled funds are found to have been used for some other non-settlement purposes (imprisonment of up to 10 years or up to KRW100 million in fine), (b) when found to be in violation of the external management duty (administrative fine of up to KRW50 million, business suspension for six months or less), or (c) if there is a failure of making payment within the agreed upon settlement period (administrative fine of up to KRW50 million). However, considering the potential burden of regulatory compliance placed on PG services, there will be a grace period of one year after the promulgation of the revised rules. After the one-year grace period, the external management duty will be phased in g
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Nov 27, 2025
- Guidelines on Omnibus Account Provided to Facilitate Domestic Stock Investment by Foreign Investors
- The Financial Services Commission announced the availability of guidelines on the use of omnibus account for foreign investors on November 27. Background With the introduction of omnibus account in 2017 and the abolishment of the T+2 transactions reporting duty for omnibus account holders in 2023, the FSC has been making continuous efforts to improve the convenience of transactions for foreign investors. However, in various communications with overseas investors, it has been pointed out that the current eligibility requirement placed on omnibus account holders (foreign financial investment businesses) remains too restrictiveand that there are no guidelines on omnibus account to facilitate its usage. In this regard, in April 2025, the FSC, along with the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) and the Korea Financial Investment Association (KOFIA), granted a regulatory exemption under the financial regulatory sandbox program to assist a domestic securities firm to form a partnership with an overseas small- or medium-sized financial investment business and to enable the latter to open an omnibus account with the domestic securities firm. Through this, the first omnibus account for foreign investors has been opened in August 2025 (Hana Securities-Emperor Securities), and other securities businesses (Samsung Securities and Yuanta Securities) are also following suit through the regulatory exemption program (designated in September 2025). In addition, after taking into account various opinions and questions raised by domestic securities businesses, standing proxies, and foreign institutional investors, the FSC and related organizations have jointly prepared guidelines on the use of omnibus account for foreign investors. Key Details The guidelineson the use of omnibus account for foreign investors provide step-by-step procedural details regarding (a) the opening of omnibus account, (b) allocation of shareholder rights, (c) reporting duty, and (d) the management of internal con
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Nov 26, 2025
- 7th Annual Korea Fintech Week Kicks Off Highlighting Potential of AI and Personalization of Finance
- The Financial Services Commission announced that the 2025 Korea Fintech Week has kicked off on November 26 for three days until November 28 at aT Center in Seoul with participation from major domestic and overseas fintech businesses, financial companies, associated institutions, and foreign governments and international organizations. This years global fintech expo has been organized to be the largest ever in terms of scale with 99 exhibition booths and 128 businesses and organizations participating and showcasing a variety of seminars and programs. As such, visitors have shown strong interest for joining this years Korea Fintech Week as the volume of pre-registration (about 5,200 individuals as of 17:00 pm, Nov. 25) more than doubled from the level seen in the previous year. The 2025 Korea Fintech Week started out with opening events featuring speeches by world-renowned entrepreneurs and authorities. Chairman Lee Eog-weon of the Financial Services Commission delivered a welcoming speech where he emphasized the need to promote digital innovation through AI transition in the financial industry. In this regard, FSC Chairman Lee said that the AI capacity of a country will serve as the unequivocal measure of its competitiveness from now on. With a vision to achieve a global top-three status in AI capacity, Chairman Lee said that the government is making all-out efforts to promote the AI industry. In this regard, Chairman Lee introduced plans to (a) promote large scale investments in AI and overhaul the current AI infrastructure in the financial industry, (b) foster conditions and set regulatory grounds to supply capital to fintech businesses, (c) and establish foundations for introducing innovative financial services. In addition, going beyond the simple convergence of AI technology with fintech services, Chairman Lee said that the Korean government will seek bold innovation in digital finance to fully embrace the potential of AI and facilitate the personalization of fi
