Press Releases - Financial Services Commission

Press Releases

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Feb 08, 2026

FSC Holds Meeting to Review Situations over Bithumb's Erroneous Payouts and Discuss Improvement Measures

Chairman Lee Eog-weon of the Financial Services Commission convened a meeting with officials from the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (KoFIU) and the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) on February 8 to review situations concerning erroneous payouts of bitcoins (BTC) by Bithumb, which took place on the evening of February 6, and to discuss measures to strengthen the internal control system of virtual asset exchange service providers. Current Situation In the wake of accidental payouts of bitcoins (BTC) by Bithumb, which took place around 19:00 on February 6, an emergency meeting was held where the authorities discussed the issue of providing compensations for users following a sharp drop seen in the price of bitcoin (BTC). In this regard, Bithumb announced its own plans to offer compensations for its platform users whose sell transactions were affected by the accident and to make sure that its BTC users ledger is being maintained accurately. At todays meeting, FSC Chairman Lee instructed officials to check whether there are any further damages to users and to continue to monitor the progress of on-site inspections performed by the FSS and any significant movements in the virtual asset market. Government Response In response to Bithumbs erroneous payouts, an emergency response unit was set up at yesterdays meeting, consisting of officials from the FSC, KoFIU, FSS, and DAXA (Digital Asset Exchange Alliance), to make sure that necessary steps are taken to protect the users of virtual assets. As such, at todays meeting, the authorities discussed ways bring about regulatory and structural improvements to strengthen the reliability and transparency of virtual asset exchange service providers. In response to the recently exposed vulnerability in the internal control system of virtual asset exchange service providers, FSC Chairman Lee instructed officials to conduct inspections on Bithumb and all other virtual asset exchange service providers and to make sure that they ar
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Feb 05, 2026

KoFIU Announces AML/CFT Policy Agendas for 2026

The Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (KoFIU) held a policy advisory committee meeting on anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) and announced key policy agendas for 2026 on February 5. At the committee meeting, KoFIU Commissioner Lee Hyung Ju said that it has been 25 years since the AML framework was first introduced in Korea pursuant to the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information (the Act hereinafter). In this regard, Commissioner Lee talked about the need to strengthen AML response capacity against newly emerging types of fraudulent activities, especially with regard to transborder crimes. To this end, the KoFIU plans to pursue four major policy agendas as follows(a) strengthening the capacity to respond to serious public livelihood infringement crimes and transborder crimes, (b) bolstering the AML framework in the virtual asset industry, (c) improving financial companies AML capacity, and (d) enhancing regulatory consistency with global standards. Background Since its establishment in 2001, the KoFIU has been examining and analyzing specified financial transaction information to be provided to law enforcement agencies and supervising and overseeing the AML duty of financial companies. Over the past 25 years, the volume of both suspicious transaction reports (STRs) and analysis of information being shared with law enforcement agencies has increased significantly. In 2023-2024, the use of KoFIUs analysis data led to the uncovering of major tax and customs violations cases. In 2021, the KoFIU adopted a registration system for virtual asset service providers (VASPs) and made them subject to the AML duty, thereby employing inspections and sanctions tools to help strengthen the AML capacity of VASPs. The KoFIU was the first in the world to adopt the travel rule for VASPs, requiring them to transmit and hold originator and beneficiary information in virtual asset transactions. Nonetheless, the Korean soc
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Feb 05, 2026

FSC Introduces Measures to Strengthen Income Benefit and Enhance Convenience for Reverse Mortgage Subscribers

The Financial Services Commission announced measures to strengthen income benefits and enhance convenience for reverse mortgage subscribers on February 5. Background The reverse mortgage program in Korea allows subscribers to take out reverse mortgage loans (monthly payments) using their houses as collateral in their lifetime, guaranteeing senior citizens a certain level of monthly income while continuing to live in their homes in retirement. Since the reverse mortgage program was first introduced in Korea back in 2007, there have been continuous efforts to expand the eligibility requirement regarding the age of subscribers and the price of houses.As a result, some 150,000 households were found to have subscribed to reverse mortgages in cumulative terms as of the end of 2025 (2% subscription rate). However, given the tendency of heavily concentrated wealth in real estate among senior citizensand rapidly aging populationin Korea, it remains necessary to further promote the use of the reverse mortgage program. In this regard, the following measures have been prepared to make reverse mortgage loans as a more mainstream source of retirement income generation for the elderly. Key Measures a) Increasing reverse mortgage payments Through a redesigning of the actuarial model used in the reverse mortgage program, subscribers will be able to receive increased payments. For an average subscriber (aged 72 with home value of KRW400 million), his or her monthly payments will increase by about 3.13 percent from KRW1,297,000 previously to KRW1,338,000. Over an entire subscription period (17.4 years for 72 y/o), the total amount of payments is forecast to be increased by about KRW8,490,000. This change will take effect for new subscribers from after March 1, 2026. In addition, there will be expanded support for low-priced homeowners residing in houses valued below a certain level. Currently, there is extra payment benefit provided to the subscribers who meet certain conditions (reci
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Feb 02, 2026

AI-driven Stock Market Monitoring System Adopted to Boost Early Response Capacity against Unfair Trading Activities

The Financial Services Commission announced that the Korea Exchange (KRX) will begin to operate an AI-driven market monitoring system from February 3 to bolster its early response capacity against market manipulation and other unfair trading activities. Despite recent increases in the number of attempts to unfairly influence and manipulate stock prices through dissemination of false information online, it remained difficult for authorities to verify the vast volume of data circulating in the cyberspace. Against this backdrop, as a follow-up to the comprehensive measures to stamp out unfair trading activities in stock markets (jointly announced by the FSC, FSS and KRX in July 2025), the KRX has developed an AI-driven monitoring system to more quickly and accurately detect and analyze relevant information circulating in the cyberspace. The newly launched AI-driven market monitoring system has been developed based on the training and analysis of online posts, reported cases of spam text messages, YouTube videos, and relevant data on stock price movements on the stock items that have been previously identified as potential targets of unfair transactions. Based on a set of objective indicators that the AI has learned from the training, the system has been designed to monitor trends of cyber information, assign scores on individual stock items, and automatically detect the items showing a high probability for unfair transactions activities. The findings will assist authorities to look into whether there are actually suspicious transactions activities involving certain stock items and help them to conduct more in-depth examinations if deemed necessary. With the AI-driven market monitoring system in place, authorities will be able to more quickly respond to suspicious transactions activities. The types of cyber information being monitored on a real-time basis will be expanded with an enhanced level of efficiency in sorting out high-risk stock items. The AI-based automated d
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Jan 30, 2026

Capital Market Rules Change Proposed to Upgrade Regulations on Domestic Exchange-traded Fund Market

The Financial Services Commission proposed capital market rules change to upgrade regulations on the domestic exchange-traded fund (ETF) market and help close the regulatory gap existing between domestically listed ETFs and overseas listed ETFs. The revision proposal for the Enforcement Decree of the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act (FSCMA) and the regulation on financial investment businesses will enter a 40-day comment period from January 30 to March 11, 2026. Due to the presence of regulatory gap existing between domestically listed ETFs and overseas listed ETFs (with overseas ETFs being subject to eased regulations in their jurisdictions), it has been pointed out that the domestic ETF market has not been able to sufficiently absorb the demand of investors for diverse types of ETFs. In this regard, an upgrade to relevant regulations is proposed to improve regulatory consistency with global standards and boost the competitiveness of domestic capital markets, while ensuring stronger protection and greater convenience for investors to encourage investments in the domestic market. Key Revision Details a) Introducing single-stock ETFs (same rules to be applied on ETNs) In major overseas markets, such as the U.S. and Hong Kong, there are single-stock ETFs available for domestic investors to trade using mobile applications of domestic securities firms. However, in Korea, it is currently not possible to launch single-stock ETFs or single-stock ETNs due to the dispersed investment rule requiring ETFs to have at least ten (five for ETNs) underlying items with maximum 30 percent limit on each item. In this regard, the FSC will seek to amend relevant rules to allow the listing of single-stock ETFs tracking blue-chip stocks in the domestic market. The revised rules will also apply to exchange-traded notes (ETNs) through an update to the Korea Exchange (KRX) rules. Considering the need for investor protection and also overseas cases, leveraged ETFs and ETN
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Jan 29, 2026

Legislative Ground Established to Check Criminal Record on Major Shareholders of Virtual Asset Service Providers

The Financial Services Commission announced that a revision bill for the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information (the Act hereinafter) passed the plenary session of the National Assembly on January 29. The revision is intended to strengthen entry rules for virtual asset service providers and allow the notification of sanctions imposed on former (retired) employees of financial companies. Key Revision Details a) Strengthening of entry rules for virtual asset service providers With the revised law in place, the rules concerning the market entry of virtual asset service providers have been strengthened. More specifically, the revised law authorizes the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (KoFIU) to check criminal record on major shareholders when screening for the registration of a virtual asset service provider. Previously, only the chief executive and other executive officers were subject to criminal background check. Under the revised law, the scope of laws under which previous rule-breaking activities are screened for will also be broadened to include violations regarding illegal narcotics trafficking, fair trade, tax offenses, specific economic crimes, virtual asset user protection, etc. Additionally, the revised law will enable the KoFIU to examine financial conditions and social credibility of virtual asset service providers and whether they are equipped with appropriate levels of organizational, human resources, computer network, and internal control capacities for complying with relevant regulations. Moreover, even after granting an approval of business registration, the revised law establishes a ground for the KoFIU to impose certain conditions for the purpose of ensuring anti-money laundering, user protection, etc. b) Notification of sanctions imposed on retired employees of financial companies The revised law also includes a provision authorizing the KoFIU to notify financial companies about the issuance of sanctions imposed on
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Jan 28, 2026

Revised Rules to Expand English Disclosure Requirement and Enhance Transparency in Corporate Disclosures

The Financial Services Commission approved revised rules on corporate disclosures at the regular meeting held on January 28. The rule changes are aimed at expanding the scope of listed companies being subject to the mandatory English disclosure requirement and making corporate disclosure practices more transparent regarding annual general meetings of shareholders (AGMs) and executive compensations. Key Revision Details a) Expanding mandatory English disclosure requirement (from May 2026) The FSC and the Korea Exchange (KRX) have been working on expanding the application of mandatory English disclosure requirement on listed companies in stages. In this regard, the mandatory English disclosure requirement entered into the first stage in January 2024 for listed companies with assets worth KRW10 trillion or more (and foreign ownership of 5 percent or more) or those with assets worth KRW2 trillion or more (and foreign ownership of 30 percent or more). Under the revised rules, the mandatory English disclosure requirement will be expanded to all KOSPI-listed companies with assets worth KRW2 trillion or more from May 2026. This will significantly increase the number of listed companies being subject to the mandatory English disclosure requirement from the current level of 111 companies (based on their total assets as of end-2024) to 265 companies. The disclosure items subject to the mandatory English disclosure will also be expanded to all disclosure items required by KRX rules, including material information in its entirety (55 items), fair disclosure, and inquired disclosure. The time required for companies to submit English disclosures after filing their original Korean disclosures will also be reduced. Large KOSPI-listed companies with assets worth KRW10 trillion or more will need to submit English disclosures on the same day of filing their Korean disclosures with the KRX in principle. Listed companies with assets worth KRW2 trillion or more that are newly becoming sub
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Jan 21, 2026

Rule Change Proposed on Loan-to-deposit Ratio for Banks to Promote Supply of Funds to Regional Economies

The Financial Services Commission issued a preliminary notice of rule change regarding the supervisory regulation on banking business on January 21. The proposed rule change will ease the standard for calculating loan-to-deposit ratios for banks to encourage them to supply more loans to companies and individual business owners operating outside the Seoul metropolitan area. The proposed rule change will be put up for public comment from January 22 until February 11, 2026 and go through an approval process before taking effect in the first quarter of this year. The proposed rule change is part of a broader policy initiative intended to boost the supply of funds to regional economies. In this regard, the proportion of policy funds being supplied to non-Seoul metropolitan regions will be increased from about 40 percent in 2025 to about 45 percent by 2028. This will push up the annual volume of policy funds being supplied to regional economies by about KRW25 trillion to a total of KRW120 trillion in 2028. To promote a well-balanced growth across regions, National Growth Fund, which will make investments in high-tech and future growth industries, will also allocate about 40 percent of its total investments to regions outside the Seoul metropolitan area. There will also be efforts to boost the supply of funds to regions from private financial companies. The FSC plans to upgrade rules and provide incentives to improve the competitiveness of regional banks and strengthen the function of savings banks and mutual finance businesses in providing regional finance. In this regard, the proposed rule change on banks loan-to-deposit ratio is intended to provide incentive for banks to supply more funds to regional economies. Under the current system, banks issuance of loans to companies, individual business owners, and households are weighted 85 percent, 100 percent, and 115 percent, respectively. However, with the rule change in place, the weight applied for calculating banks loan-t
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Jan 19, 2026

Network Separation Rule to be Eased in Financial Industry to Facilitate Use of Cloud-based Software as a Service

The Financial Services Commission issued a preliminary notice of rule change regarding the supervisory regulation on electronic financial services on January 19. The proposed rule change will grant financial companies an exemption from the network separation rule for making use of a cloud-based Software as a Service (SaaS) program in their internal network with a condition that they demonstrate a certain level of capacity to comply with network security protocols. The rule change proposal will be put up for public comment from January 20 until February 9, 2026. With the upgraded rule in place, financial companies will be able to adopt and make use of various SaaS programs for their administrative and back office operations without having to go through an approval process under the financial regulatory sandbox program. Background In August 2024, the FSC introduced a roadmap for making improvements to the network separation rule in the financial industry, allowing the use of SaaS for financial companies on a temporary basis under the financial regulatory sandbox program if they have established adequate network security measures. Under the announced policy roadmap, the FSC also had plans for granting exemption on a more permanent basis in the future once there accumulates an ample volume of cases of SaaS program usage by financial companies. In this regard, since September 2023, a total of 32 financial companies have been permitted to operate 85 different SaaS programs under the financial regulatory sandbox program thus far, which demonstrates a level of stability and the volume of accumulated usage cases sufficient for financial authorities to grant exemption from the network separation rule on a permanent basis through a revision of relevant regulation. Key Revision Details First, SaaS programs specified under the Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Development of Cloud Computing and Protection of Its Users will be exempted from the network separation rule pursuant
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Jan 15, 2026

Amended Legislation Establishes Legal Ground for Introducing and Circulating Security Tokens

The Financial Services Commission announced that revision bills for the Act on Electronic Registration of Stocks and Bonds (the Electronic Registration Act hereinafter) and the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act (the FSCMA hereinafter) passed the National Assembly at a plenary session held on January 15. The amended legislation will pave the way for introducing and circulating security tokens. A security token (or tokenized security) is a digitized form of a security, which is legally defined under the FSCMA and whose issuance and circulation information is being recorded and managed on a blockchain-based distributed ledger. To legally recognize distributed ledger as a securities registry and ensure stability, it was necessary to make changes to relevant laws. In this regard, the passage of revision bills at the plenary session of the National Assembly today mark a culmination of years-long legislative efforts from authorities since 2023. Key Revision Details a) Introducing Security Tokens: An Update to the Electronic Registration Act Under the revised Electronic Registration Act, a clear definition is provided on distributed ledger, which is legally recognized as a securities registry, thereby authorizing the issuance of securities in the form of security tokens. The issuer of a security token will need to follow legally mandated procedures and qualifications to make notification and apply for electronic registration with the Korea Securities Depository (KSD). With the introduction of security tokens, the management of securities accounts based on distributed ledger technology and the use of smart contracts will be promoted. The blockchain-based distributed ledger technology is widely known for its stability and security against hacking attacks, and this will promote more active use of smart contracts, especially in transactions for newly emerging types of securities, such as fractional investment products (trust beneficiary certificates) and inv
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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 KRW1,000,000or more to another VASP, will be expanded to virtual asset transfers of less than KRW1,000,000. 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 syste
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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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