Press Releases - Financial Services Commission

Press Releases

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Nov 05, 2026

FSC Holds Meeting on Strengthening Cyber Defense Framework amid Growing AI Hacking Threats

The Financial Services Commission held a meeting on November 5 with officials from related ministries, organizations, and financial industry groups to discuss measures to strengthen cyber defense framework in the financial sector to better respond to growing hacking threats driven by artificial intelligence (AI). Background Between September 30 and November 3 this year, there were 37 financial companies and 40 cases of hacking incidents reported throughout all financial sectorsfour banks, five financial investment businesses, three insurance companies, five savings banks, one mutual finance business, two specialized credit finance businesses, four online peer-to-peer (P2P) loan service providers, ten electronic financial service providers, and three virtual asset service providers. The extent of personal information breach currently stands at about 473,000 cases, mostly pertaining to the information about employees, and the names, resident registration numbers, and account numbers of customers. However, there have been no reported incidents of customers account passwords being stolen thus far. In this regard, the government has instructed financial companies to ensure consumer protection and bolster the monitoring over suspicious transactions activities and take all necessary steps to prevent secondary damages. Some smaller sized companies in the virtual asset, electronic financial services, and online P2P lending sectors reported loss of funds amounting to a total of about KRW1 billion so far. However, the stolen money was mostly from their management accounts and individual users were not found to have accrued any loss of funds as yet. Based on the strict liability rule under the Electronic Financial Transactions Act and the insurance and reserve requirements under the Act on the Protection of Virtual Asset Users, the FSC and the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) will make sure to thoroughly supervise and guide the affected companies for consumer protection. Key
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Nov 03, 2026

Capital Market Rules Change Introducing Preliminary Book Building and Cornerstone Investor Adopted by Government

The Financial Services Commission announced that the government approved a revision proposal for the Enforcement Decree of the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act (FSCMA) at the cabinet meeting held on November 3. The revised Enforcement Decree prescribes details regarding the preliminary book building and cornerstone investor system being introduced under the revised FSCMA, which is scheduled to take effect from November 13, 2026. Preliminary book building allows bookrunners to survey market demand before a price band for an IPO is determined through the disclosure of a securities registration statement. It helps to more accurately reflect market demand and arrive at a more optimal price in IPO valuation. The cornerstone investor system allows the pre-allocation of shares from the portion of IPO shares allocated for institutional investors to those who have agreed to a lockup of at least six months. Cornerstone investors can help to foment investor confidence in the IPO market by ensuring a steady input of institutional investors in advance for the medium- to long-term, while addressing the problem of excessive price declines in publicly offered shares shortly after their IPOs. Key Details a) Preliminary book building (Eligibility) The asset requirement for institutional investors qualified to take part in preliminary book building will be set at KRW30 billion or more in entrusted assets for private equity funds and discretionary investment business entities. At the same time, they will be required to have a minimum level of capacity for carrying out corporate valuation and handling the internal management of undisclosed information. (Process) After preparing an IPO due diligence report, IPO lead managers will be able to provide relevant information (which will be disclosed in a securities registration statement at a later date) to qualified institutional investors to survey demand (price, quantity, etc.). Since the information being provided is n
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Nov 02, 2026

FSC Plans to Boost Supply of Productive Finance Support Intended for Local Economies and SMEs

The Financial Services Commission held the sixth meeting on propelling a transition to productive finance with officials from banks, public guarantee institutions, and related organizations on November 2. At todays meeting, officials discussed measures to supply guaranteed loans for the small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and middle-market enterprises (MMEs) operating in regional economies and ways to improve the accounts receivable financing system. Key Measures a) Supplying guaranteed loans to SMEs and MMEs in regional economies The government has been pursuing a regionally well-balanced economic growth model (known as the five-pole-and-three-special strategy) to address the problem of concentration in and around the capital region and promote the growth of regional economies. The productive finance initiative and the financing priority given to regional economies are part of this effort. However, as SMEs are struggling with growing delinquency rates, the banking sector has decided to make special contributions to provide targeted assistance in the form of guaranteed loans to the SMEs operating in the five-pole-and-three-special regions. To this end, banks will make special contributions in the amount of KRW300 billion for three years. Based on this, the Korea Credit Guarantee Fund and the Korea Technology Finance Corporation will supply financing guarantees worth about fifteen times of the special contribution amount. This will enable the supply of about KRW4.5 trillion worth of guaranteed loans to the SMEs and MMEs operating in the five-pole-and-three-special regions over the next three years. The SMEs and MMEs eligible to receive guaranteed loan support will be recommended by the municipal and provincial governments in their regions. There will be fourteen municipal and provincial governments from the five-pole-and-three-special regions that will be eligible to participate in the selection process. An expert review committee will be set up consisting of
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Oct 29, 2026

FSC Proposes Rules Change to Facilitate Prompt Resolution of Distressed Financial Companies

The Financial Services Commission introduced plans to facilitate a prompt resolution process for insolvent (or distressed) financial companies on October 29 through proposed rules changes to the Act on the Structural Improvement of the Financial Industry and the Depositor Protection Act. Key Revision Details The prompt resolution process for insolvent (or distressed) financial companies is aimed at preventing risk contagion and systemic risk in the financial industry and establishing safeguards to ensure sufficient protection of rights for relevant shareholders and creditors. a) Scope of application The types of financial institutions that will be subject to the prompt resolution process will be limited to those that are eligible to be covered by deposit protection insurance, which include banks (excluding Nonghyup Bank and Suhyup Bank), insurance businesses (excluding reinsurance), securities firms, savings banks, and financial holding companies. The financial companies that are not eligible to be covered by deposit protection insurance, such as specialized credit finance businesses, certain groups of asset management companies, and trust businesses, are not subject to the prompt resolution process because they are less prone to the risk of a potential bank run as they have no bank-like deposit-taking function and often manage investor funds through third-party custodians. For Nonghyup Bank and Suhyup Bank and mutual finance businesses that are supervised separately under different laws and have their own resolution proceedings, authorities will examine the applicability of the prompt resolution process on a medium- to long-term. b) Instigating conditions To initiate a prompt resolution process, a specific set of instigating conditions should be met. First, the financial institution in question should be insolvent or distressed (at risk of becoming insolvent). Second, it should be deemed highly likely that the insolvency at the financial institution poses a threat
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Oct 28, 2026

FSC Plans to Introduce Inclusive Finance Evaluation System and Bolster Management of Non-Performing Loans

The Financial Services Commission held the seventh meeting on propelling a transition to inclusive finance with officials from related organizations and private sector experts on October 28. At todays meeting, officials discussed plans to introduce a comprehensive evaluation system on inclusive finance for financial companies and ways to bolster the management of non-performing loans (NPLs) by public financial institutions. Inclusive Finance Evaluation System In order to make inclusive finance a more embedded culture across all financial sectors, the FSC along with the Financial Supervisory Service plans to introduce a comprehensive evaluation system on inclusive finance to more effectively induce financial companies to internalize inclusive finance as a core part of their management activities and encourage them to continue to expand efforts in this area. Seventeen domestic banks subcategorized into three groups(a) large banks, (b) small- and medium-sized banks, and (c) internet-only bankswill be subject to relative evaluation under the inclusive finance evaluation system. The FSS will oversee the evaluation process and an evaluation committee (including a chair appointed from the private sector) will be established to decide on final evaluation results. Financial companies will be evaluated on their previous years performance every year and the results will be announced in March. Starting from next year, the inclusive finance evaluation system will be expanded to the non-banking sector. There will be five evaluation criteria(a) corporate governance, (b) supply of funds, (c) debt adjustment, (d) social consideration, and (e) non-financial servicefor evaluating the overall inclusive finance performance of financial companies. a) Corporate governance (10%) A qualitative assessment will be performed on the inclusive finance strategy, system, and process of financial companies to promote an internalization of inclusive finance in their management activities. b) Supply
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Oct 26, 2026

FSC Announces Key Progress on Benchmark Rate Reform

The Financial Services Commission (FSC) unveiled key progress on the benchmark rate reform measures that have been implemented since the reform plan was announced in March this year. There have been three working-level taskforces set up jointly with public and private sector officials to regularly review the progress of implementation and make sure to keep implementation on time as laid out by the initial schedule. Key Progress on Benchmark Rate Reform a) Upward adjustment of KOFR-OIS transactions target The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) updated its administrative guidance in June 2026 to speed up the adoption of KOFR (Korea Overnight Financing Repo Rate) in overnight index swap (OIS) transactions. The KOFR-OIS transactions target of 10 percent in the first-year period (from July 2025 to June 2026) has been raised by 15 percentage points to 25 percent for the second-year period (from July 2026 to June 2027), and by another 15 percentage points every year thereafter to meet the target of 70 percent or more in KOFR-OIS transactions by June 2030. In the first-year period (from July 2025 to June 2026), KOFR-OIS transactions surpassed the initial goal of 10 percent to stand at 12.1 percent. As of the third quarter of 2026, KOFR-OIS transactions reached around 18.5 percent. The government and the financial sector will continue to work closely to promote KOFR- OIS transactions to meet the intended target for the second-year period. b) New KOFR-FRN issuance target for banks Through an administrative guidance, the FSS introduced a new KOFR-based floating rate note (FRN) issuance target for banks in June 2026. In the first-year period (from July 2026 to June 2027), banks will need to meet the KOFR-FRN issuance target of 10 percent or more and increase their KOFR-FRN issuance every year by 10 percentage points thereafter to meet the target of 50 percent or more by June 2031. For policy financial institutions (Korea Development Bank, Industrial Bank of Korea, and Export-I
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Oct 15, 2026

Household Loans, September 2026

In September 2026, the outstanding balance of household loans across all financial sectors dropped KRW2.2 trillion (preliminary), edging down for the first time since December 2025 (down KRW1.2 trillion). (By Type) Home-backed mortgage loans went up KRW3.3 trillion, growing at a slower pace compared with the previous month (up KRW4.3 trillion). Banks (up KRW4.1 trillion up KRW2.9 trillion) saw a slower pace of mortgage loan growth, while nonbanks (up KRW0.2 trillion up KRW0.4 trillion) saw a somewhat faster pace of mortgage loan growth. Other types of loans dropped KRW5.5 trillion, declining at a considerably faster pace from the previous month (down KRW1.5 trillion) with credit loans falling more rapidly (down KRW0.4 trillion down KRW3.0 trillion). (By Sector) In September 2026, household loans in the banking sector went up KRW0.6 trillion, growing at a notably slower pace compared with the previous month (up KRW3.5 trillion). Banks own mortgage loans (up KRW2.9 trillion up KRW1.8 trillion) increased at a slower pace, while policy-based mortgage loans (up KRW1.1 trillion up KRW1.1 trillion) maintained the same level of growth and other types of loans (down KRW0.6 trillion down KRW2.3 trillion) fell at a faster pace compared with the previous month. In the nonbanking sector, household loans dropped KRW2.8 trillion, falling at a faster pace from the previous month (down KRW0.7 trillion). Mutual finance businesses (down KRW0.4 trillion down KRW0.7 trillion), insurance companies (down KRW0.3 trillion down KRW0.8 trillion), and specialized credit finance businesses (down KRW0.3 trillion down KRW0.9 trillion) saw household loans declining more rapidly, while savings banks (up KRW0.3 trillion down KRW0.4 trillion) saw household loans edging back lower from a growth seen in the previous month. (Assessment) In September 2026, the outstanding balance of household loans across all financial sectors saw a net decrease (down KRW2.2 trillion) for the first time this year as mort
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Oct 14, 2026

Authorities Hold Meeting on Cybersecurity Management in Financial Sector to Bolster Anti-Hacking Measures

The Financial Services Commission held a meeting on cybersecurity management in the financial sector with officials from related organizations on October 14. In the wake of recent hacking incidents in the financial sector, financial authorities have taken steps to immediately dispatch officials for investigation, notify affected customers about consumer protection measures available for them, and distributed the IP addresses linked to the hacking attacks as well as a self-evaluation checklist to all financial companies. At todays meeting, authorities went over the result of checklist evaluation and discussed measures to bolster cybersecurity management to prevent data breaches in the financial sector. Overview At the time of this meeting, 16 companies in total have been confirmed to have experienced data breach incidents recently across all financial sectors.The extent of data breaches is estimated to be about 100,000 pieces of customer data (names, contact information, resident registration numbers, email addresses, etc.). Thus far, there have been no reported hacking incidents involving data breaches of account passwords or credit card numbers that would particularly raise the alarm about the potential of fraudulent transactions. Authorities have instructed the affected financial companies to immediately block the IP addresses linked to the hacking attacks, employ additional measures (security patches, suspension of services, etc.) to prevent further breaches, and take all necessary steps to ensure consumer protection. In the meantime, through on-site reviews, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) and the Financial Security Institute (FSI) are currently looking closely into individual incidents to find out attack vectors or surface and patterns of cyberattacks to see whether individual incidents are associated with one another, whether these attacks originated from the same attacker, and whether artificial intelligence (AI) has been used in these hacking inciden
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Oct 06, 2026

FSC-FSS Issue Consumer Alert over Potential Phishing Scams Following Data Breaches in Financial Sector

The Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service issued a consumer alert (Level I: Caution)on October 6, urging financial consumers to practice caution over potential phishing attacks and loan scams following recent personal information breaches in the financial sector. In addition, the FSC and the FSS are operating a special response period for one month starting from today to make all-out efforts to prevent subsequent damages, such as phishing attacks and loan scams, involving leaked data. In this regard, the financial authorities have convened a meeting with financial companies on October 6 and instructed them to take the following measures. a) Operation of help desks During the special response period, financial companies should set up and operate help desks to provide active assistance to affected consumers and guide them through preventive steps. If they come across a suspected phishing scam, financial companies should immediately report to the authorities and quickly share relevant information with other financial companies to prevent further spread of damages. b) Enhanced FDS monitoring Financial companies are instructed to strengthen their monitoring of suspicious transactions activities involving stolen consumer data through their own fraud detection system (FDS). As such, financial companies will more closely review online loan applications, new accounting opening, and large-amount transfer of money involving stolen consumer data and require additional ID verification steps if needed. c) Joint response through ASAP Financial companies are instructed to make active use of the AI-based anti-phishing Sharing Analysis Platform (ASAP) to quickly share phishing-related information with other entities and effectively cut off suspicious transactions and further damages. d) Consumer remedies and compensations Financial companies are instructed to continue to closely monitor the extent of damage regarding personal information breaches and mak
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Oct 01, 2026

FSC Proposes Rules Change to Pave Way for Tokenization of Securities Issuance and Circulation

The Financial Services Commission proposed revisions to subordinate regulations under the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act (FSCMA) and the Act on Electronic Registration of Stocks and Bonds (the Electronic Registration Act hereinafter) to pave the way for the implementation of the tokenization of securities issuance and circulation from February 4, 2027 under the revised FSCMA and Electronic Registration Act. The revision proposals for subordinate regulations will enter a comment period from October 2 to November 11, 2026. Key Revision Details Revision proposals for subordinate regulations under the Electronic Registration Act The types of securities allowed to be issued and circulated in a tokenized form will include traditional securities types, such as stocks, bonds, and funds, along with fractional investment securities in the form of non-monetary trust beneficiary certificates and investment contract securities. To ensure credibility and continuity, distributed ledgers need to be shared across two or more account management entities (including issuer account management entities) alongside the electronic registration entity (Korea Securities Depository). In addition, considering the public nature of distributed ledgers and the need to prevent disruptions in the confirmation of securities rights, it will be prohibited to directly charge a fee in return for the use of distributed ledgers. For issuer account management entities that are issuing entities of tokenized securities but are also allowed to directly manage securities accounts for customers, the minimum equity capital requirement will be set at KRW4 billion, and they will need to have at least one account management professional, one internal control professional, and two information technology professionals. Revision proposals for subordinate regulations under the FSCMA There will be an additional over-the-counter (OTC) exchange licensing unit established for debt securitiesalongside
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Oct 01, 2026

KoFIU Unveils H1 2026 Survey Result on Virtual Asset Service Providers

The Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (KoFIU) and the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) conducted a survey on 26 registered virtual asset service providers (VASPs) to assess the current state of the domestic virtual asset market and keep relevant statistics up to date. Survey Overview (Respondents) 26 VASPs (17 exchange service providers and 9 custody and wallet service providers) (Survey Method) Data collected from VASPs (Period Covered) January 1, 2026 to June 30, 2026 Key Survey Findings for H1 2026 In the first half of 2026, domestic virtual asset exchange service providers saw drops in market capitalization (down KRW28.3 trillion or 33%), average daily trading volume (down KRW2.3 trillion or 44%), and total amount of deposits in KRW (down KRW2.9 trillion or 35%). The maximum drawdown ratio was 69 percent, which stood at a higher level in comparison to domestic stock market indices (55.1 percent for KOSPI and 31.8 percent for KOSDAQ) over the same period. With KRW-based exchange service providers continuing to dominate the market, the market capitalization of coin-only exchange service providers stood at only 0.6 percent of the total market capitalization. Both KRW-based exchange service providers and coin-only exchange service providers saw drops in average daily trading volume (down KRW2.3 trillion or 44 percent and down KRW450 million or 55 percent, respectively). The monthly turnover ratio also showed a significant gap in transactions volumes between KRW-based exchange service providers (100 to 201 percent) and coin-only exchange service providers (2 to 9 percent). In the first half of 2026, there were 673 different types of virtual assets in circulation excluding the ones cross-listed on multiple exchanges, a drop of 5 percent from 712 at the end of 2025. There were 234 different types of exclusively listed virtual assets whose market capitalization stood at KRW0.6 trillion, which constituted one percent of the total market capitalization (KRW58.9 trillio
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Sep 16, 2026

FSC Proposes Rule Changes under Revised FSCMA on Valuation Method in M&A Transactions

The Financial Services Commission (FSC) proposed amendments to the Enforcement Decree of the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act (FSCMA) and the Regulation on Issuance and Disclosure of Securities to introduce fair-value pricing for MA transactions and strengthen related procedures under the revised FSCMA, which will take effect on December 9, 2026. The proposal will be open for public comments from September 16 to October 6, 2026. Background Under the revised FSCMA, when a listed company enters into a merger, a spin-off or split and merger, an acquisition or transfer of a significant business or asset, and a comprehensive share exchange or transfer (each, a Subject MA Transaction), it must calculate the transaction value based on a fair value calculated by comprehensively taking into account the share price, asset value, earnings value, etc. The revised FSCMA also requires the board of directors of a listed company to prepare and disclose the written opinion for the purpose and expected effect of a Subject MA Transaction, and the appropriateness of the merger price. The company must undergo an evaluation by an external appraiser regarding matters such as the value of a Subject MA Transaction, the appropriateness of conditions of the transaction. For MA transactions between affiliated companies, a listed company must disclose any conflicts of interest or specific relationships between its related parties (under Article 9(1) of the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act) and the counterparty to the affiliate MA transaction. Accordingly, the FSC plans to amend the relevant regulations under the revised FSCMA as follows: (i) remove the detailed calculation method prescribed in the Enforcement Decree for the Subject MA transaction value and the purchase price for dissenting shareholders appraisal rights (the Appraisal Rights); (ii) add items to be included in the boards opinion and external evaluations; and (iii) strengthen procedures for determining t
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Sep 15, 2026

Korea Premium Weeks 2026 to be Held from Sept 28 to Oct 16

Korea Premium Weeks 2026 will be held over three weeks, from September 28 to October 16, 2026. First held this year, Korea Premium Weeks 2026 is the largest capital markets IR event in Korea, jointly organized by the Financial Services Commission (FSC) and the Korea Exchange (KRX). A total of 42 organizations, including capital market-related institutions, financial investment firms and media outlets, along with 55 listed companies, will participate in the event. The event will be held annually and is expected to become a flagship IR event and global conference for Koreas capital markets. Under the slogan Gateway to Asias Most Dynamic Capital Market, the event will bring together domestic and international investors to discuss key issues facing Koreas capital markets and explore their future direction. The three-week program will consist of a Core Week in the first week and Sub Weeks in the second and third weeks, with approximately 25 events taking place throughout the period. ▪ Week 1: Core Week (September 28October 2) The first week will feature policy sessions on the capital and foreign exchange markets, as well as IR programs connecting Korean listed companies with leading global investors, including pension funds, investment banks and asset managers. ▪ Week 2: Sub Week (October 68) The second week will highlight growth companies, with a seminar on strengthening the competitiveness of the KOSDAQ market, IR programs for KOSDAQ- and KONEX-listed companies, and a seminar on revitalizing the venture capital exit market. ▪ Week 3: Sub Week (October 1216) The third week will feature a series of events organized by private-sector financial institutions, including domestic securities firms and asset management companies, as well as the global bond market forum For details on the event program and advance registration, please visit the official website for Korea Premium Weeks 2026: http://koreaweeks.com * Please refer to the attached PDF for details.
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Sep 09, 2026

Household Loans, August 2026

In August 2026, the outstanding balance of household loans across all financial sectors increased KRW2.6 trillion (preliminary), growing at a slower pace compared with the previous month (up KRW6.4 trillion). (By Type) Home-backed mortgage loans increased KRW4.3 trillion, which showed a slowing down from the previous month (up KRW3.6 trillion). Banks (up KRW3.5 trillion up KRW4.0 trillion) and nonbanks (up KRW0.1 trillion up KRW0.3 trillion) both saw the pace of growth accelerating. Other types of loans edged down KRW1.7 trillion, shifting back down from a growth of KRW2.8 trillion in the previous month with credit loans falling KRW0.5 trillion from an increase of KRW2.1 trillion a month ago. (By Sector) In August 2026, household loans in the banking sector went up KRW3.4 trillion, growing at a slower pace from the previous month (up KRW5.5 trillion). Banks own mortgage loans (up KRW2.5 trillion up KRW2.9 trillion) and policy-based mortgage loans (up KRW1.0 trillion up KRW1.1 trillion) both edged up at faster rates, while other types of loans shifted back down from the previous months growth (up KRW2.0 trillion down KRW0.6 trillion). The nonbanking sector saw household loans declining KRW0.8 trillion, turning back lower from a growth of KRW0.9 trillion in the previous month. Mutual finance businesses (down KRW0.6 trillion down KRW0.5 trillion) saw the pace of decline slowing down, while savings banks (up KRW0.5 trillion up KRW0.3 trillion) saw the pace of growth decelerating. Insurance businesses (up KRW0.7 trillion down KRW0.3 trillion) and specialized credit finance businesses (up KRW0.3 trillion down KRW0.3 trillion) saw household loans shifting back down from increases seen in the previous month. (Assessment) In August 2026, mortgage loans (up KRW3.6 trillion up KRW4.3 trillion) expanded at a faster pace from the previous month as the previously increased volume of housing transactions for new housing occupants in July and August appears to have pushed up the vo
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Sep 04, 2026

FSC Introduces Policy Roadmap on Digital Transformation and Tokenization of Securities Issuance and Circulation

The Financial Services Commission held the third private-public joint consultative body meeting on the tokenization of securities and introduced a policy roadmap on the digital transformation of securities issuance and circulation on September 4. Key Policy Directions a) Three-phase development of infrastructure for tokenized securities issuance A three-phase roadmap will be adopted for securities companies and the Korea Securities Depository (KSD) to develop relevant infrastructures facilitating the issuance of tokenized securities. In this regard, the tokenization of securities will include not just fractional investment securities but also conventional securities types, such as stocks, bonds, and funds. With an update to the Act on Electronic Registration of Stocks and Bonds (the Electronic Registration Act hereinafter) scheduled to take effect from February 4, 2027, security tokens (or tokenized securities) are legally recognized as a digitized form of securities. Thus, the first phase of the tokenization of securities will begin from February 2027. During the first phase, the tokenization of securities will be sought for (a) privately pooled money market funds (MMFs) and bonds exclusively reserved for institutional investors, (b) unlisted stocks through a trust structure, and (c) publicly offered fractional investment securities. In the second phase, the scope of tokenization will be opened up to all publicly offered securities types. Then in the final stage, authorities will ultimately seek to establish an on-chain payments infrastructure linked to stablecoins. The second and third phase implementation will remain rather flexible depending on the outcome of the first phase tokenization process, the pace of technological innovation adopted by market participants, and the pending legislation on stablecoin. b) Model standards on fractional investment Fractional investment can take the form of either non-monetary trust beneficiary certificates or investment contra
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Sep 03, 2026

Temporary Easing of Network Separation Rule Available for More Financial Companies for AI Cybersecurity Purpose

The Financial Services Commission held a meeting on frontier AI and cybersecurity strategy with officials from the Financial Supervisory Service and the Financial Security Institute on September 3. At the meeting, officials discussed specific measures for the second phase easing of the network separation rule for financial companies. For the second phase easing of the network separation rule, the eligibility criteria and the size of selected companies will be broadened up to include nonbank financial companies and electronic financial service providers, which will help to facilitate more financial companies to test frontier AI models to bolster their cybersecurity capacity. The total number of eligible companies for the second phase testing is 75, an increase from 49 eligible entities for the first phase testing. The size of selected companies will also be increased to 15 entities from 10 companies previously. After preparing adequate internal control mechanisms, selected companies will be able to utilize frontier AI models and SaaS programs to identify and improve upon their own cybersecurity risks. More specifically, the eligibility criteria will be eased from the current level of KRW10 trillion or more in total assets with a regular staff size of 1,000 or more to KRW2 trillion or more in total assets with a regular staff size of 300 or more. The chief information security officer (CISO) should not concurrently hold another information technology-related position within the company. There are 59 companies in total that currently meet these standards. For electronic financial service providers, a distinct set of eligibility criteria will be applied. They should have an annual electronic financial transactions volume of KRW2 trillion or more and have more than 10 percent of sales generated in the field of electronic financial services. The CISO should not concurrently hold another information technology-related position within the company. There are 16 companies in
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Aug 20, 2026

Capital Markets Rules Change on Merger Value Expected to Boost Fairness and Prevent Price Distortion

The Financial Services Commission (the FSC) announced that the National Assembly passed a proposed amendment to the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act (the FSCMA) at the plenary session held on August 20, which alters the method for calculating merger value of listed companies. Under the current FSCMA and its subordinate statutes, the merger price between listed companies and their affiliates is determined based on the market value approach which has led controlling shareholders who want to set more favorable merger conditions to intentionally choose the time of merger process when the market value of the affiliates stays below its fair value, thereby suppressing the stock price of the affiliates. In this regard, the Proposed Amendment will make changes to the valuation standard for mergers from the market share price to a fair value evaluation, bolstering the procedural mechanisms intended to ensure fairness in corporate restructuring activities. Key Revision Details Introducing fair value approach Firstly, under the Proposed Amendment, when a listed company enters into a merger, a spin-off or split and merger, an acquisition or transfer of a significant business or asset, and a comprehensive share exchange or transfer (each, a Subject MA Transaction), it must calculate the transaction value based on a fair value calculated by comprehensively taking into account the share price, asset value, earning values, etc. This fair value approach also applies into the purchase price for dissenting shareholders appraisal rights. Strengthening procedural mechanisms Secondly, the board of directors of a listed company must prepare and disclose the aforementioned written opinion for the purpose and expected effect of a Subject MA Transaction, and the appropriateness of the merger price. Also, the company must undergo an evaluation by an external appraiser regarding matters such as the value of a Subject MA Transaction, the appropriateness of conditions of the
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Aug 19, 2026

FSC Announces 7th Financial Hub Policy Plan

The FSC held the 53rd financial hub development committee meeting on August 19 and announced the 7th financial hub policy plan for 2026-2028. Under the 7th three-year plan, the following four key task areas will be pursued with aims to continue to push for innovation in the financial industry and provide more substantial support for the growth of financial hubs. a) (Financial Innovation) Promote the development of innovative financial services that can serve the changing trend and needs brought by demographic shift and the advancement of AI and digital technologies, while making improvements to the operation of the financial regulatory sandbox program and fostering a fintech-friendly ecosystem. b) (Financial Infrastructure) Take a leading role in facilitating the convergence of financial and nonfinancial services and boosting efforts for sustainable finance, while shoring up support for the advancement of the domestic financial industry. c) (Capital Markets) Upgrade regulations and infrastructures to make the domestic capital markets more foreign investor-friendly, while making efforts to boost market confidence and seeking improvements in the asset management industry. d) (Financial Hub Support) Provide active support for domestic financial companies to expand their businesses overseas and strengthen communication with domestically established foreign financial companies, while taking more region-specific and individually tailored approaches for the development of financial hub strategies for Seoul and Busan. With regard to the selection of Jeonbuk State (the Special Self-Governing Province of Jeonbuk formerly known as North Jeolla Province) as a financial hub, the financial hub development committee approved the evaluation criteria and measures that have been prepared and recommended by a commissioned study. In accordance with the evaluation criteria and measures, an assessment will take place in the second half of this year in both written format and on site and
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Aug 14, 2026

Household Loans, July 2026

In July 2026, the outstanding balance of household loans across all financial sectors increased KRW6.2 trillion (preliminary), rising at a slower pace compared with the previous month (up KRW8.3 trillion). (By Type) Home-backed mortgage loans increased KRW3.5 trillion, growing at a slower pace compared with the previous month (up KRW4.5 trillion). Banks (up KRW4.3 trillion up KRW3.4 trillion) and nonbanks (up KRW0.3 trillion up KRW0.1 trillion) both saw the pace of growth decelerating. Other types of loans edged up KRW2.7 trillion, rising at a slower pace compared the previous month (up KRW3.8 trillion) with credit loans growing at a slower level (up KRW2.6 trillion up KRW2.0 trillion). (By Sector) In July 2026, household loans in the banking sector rose KRW5.4 trillion, slowing down from the growth of KRW7.6 trillion in the previous month. Banks own mortgage loans (up KRW2.9 trillion up KRW2.5 trillion) and policy-based mortgage loans (up KRW1.4 trillion up KRW0.9 trillion) both edged up at slower rates. Other types of loans (up KRW3.3 trillion up KRW2.0 trillion) also decelerated. In the nonbanking sector, household loans rose KRW0.8 trillion, growing at a similar level seen in the previous month (up KRW0.8 trillion). Mutual finance businesses (up KRW0.2 trillion down KRW0.7 trillion) saw the pace of growth turning back lower, while savings banks (down KRW0.2 trillion up KRW0.5 trillion) and specialized credit finance businesses (down KRW0.2 trillion up KRW0.3 trillion) saw the pace of growth shifting back higher. Insurance companies (up KRW1.1 trillion up KRW0.7 trillion) saw the pace of growth decelerating. (Assessment) In July 2026, the pace of household loan growth for home-backed mortgage loans (up KRW4.5 trillion up KRW3.5 trillion) and other types of loans (up KRW3.8 trillion up KRW2.7 trillion) slowed down due to the effects of self-regulatory and voluntary management measures implemented by financial companies. However, since there are expectations that h
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Aug 13, 2026

Government Plans to Boost Housing Supply and Strengthen Provision of Housing Finance Support for Young Adults

The government introduced plans to boost the supply of housing and strengthen the provision of housing finance support for non-speculative homebuyers and renters (especially young adults) at an inter-ministerial joint briefing held on August 13. At the joint briefing, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) announced plans to swiftly boost housing supply to bring stability to the housing market and the Financial Services Commission introduced comprehensive financial sector measures to help stabilize the real estate market. The measures being introduced today are aimed at shoring up the supply of housing which has seen a continuous trend of slowing down since after 2022 by seeking innovative ways to boost the quantity, pace, and distribution of housing and revitalize the supply ecosystem. At the same time, the financial sector measures are intended to facilitate the supply of housing and help to resolve the housing finance needs of non-speculative homebuyers and renters (especially young adults) while ensuring the maintenance of consistent and effective policies (household debt management measures introduced on June 27, 2025) in managing speculative demand for housing loans. Key Financial Measures The financial sector measures introduced by the FSC will expand the provision of financial support intended to shore up the supply of housing and strengthen the availability of financial assistance tailored to the specific needs of non-speculative homebuyers and renters especially for young adults. First, the provision of public guarantee support and other types of financial assistance for real estate project finance will be expanded significantly (from KRW26.3 trillion previously to KRW47.8 trillion-plus) to propel housing development and accelerate the supply of housing. The public sector guarantees for real estate project finance will be supplied in the amount of KRW23 trillion this year and KRW33 trillion next year to facilitate prompt initiation of h
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