Press Releases - Financial Services Commission

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Jul 15, 2014

Plan to Improve License System for Financial Investment Business

The FSC announced its plan to ease regulations on license system for financial investment business, which includes integrating business units for license, currently overly subdivided, and simplifying license process.KEY DIRECTION1. Improve License System for Financial Investment BusinessIn principle, financial investment businesses will be required to apply for a business license for only when it first enters the sector. The number of business units for regulatory approval will be cut from the current 42 to 13(see the table below). Once a financial institution is granted a regulatory approval for business(①~⑬), the company will be allowed to add new business within the same sector simply through add-on registration, without any additional procedure for approval.How business units for regulatory approval will change* Please refer tothe chartin the attached PDF. Regulations regarding majority shareholders will be also revised. - (Current) Person not allowed to participate in business management due to spinoff is classified as a “specially related person” under the Financial Investment Business and Capital Markets Act(FSCMA ), which unreasonably restricts such person from becoming a major shareholder. - (Revision) If the Fair Trade Commission confirms the person not participating in management due to spinoff, the person will not be classified as a “specially related person”. - (Current) A financial firm issued with sanctions equal to or stronger than institutional warning within the ‘recent three years’ is banned from becoming a largest shareholder of a financial investment company. - (Revision) For institutional warning, the period will be shortened to from the current three years to the recent one year.Other procedural regulations on license or registration will be eased or improved. - (Current) Under the current practice, a financial investment company issued with sanctions equal to or stronger than institutional warning is suspended from applying fo
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Jun 23, 2014

Privatization Plan for Woori Bank

The Public Funds Oversight Committee deliberated and approved on June 23 the privatization plan for Woori Bank.BASIC DIRECTIONWoori Financial Holdings will be merged with Woori Bank. The Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation(KDIC) will then sell its entire 56.97% stake in Woori Bank. The stake will be put up for two-track sales to proceed separately but simultaneously: sale of a controlling 30% stake and sale of the remaining minority shares.DETAILED PLAN1. SALE OF CONTROLLING STAKEOut of KDIC’s 56.97% stake in Woori Bank, the controlling 30% will be s old to a single buyer who seeks management rights of the bank. The shares will be sold according to general MA procedure.2. SALE OF MINORITY SHARESThe remaining 26.97% will be put up for auction for investors seeking investment returns. Bidders are allowed to make b ids for minority shares of between 0.5% and 10%. As an incentive to draw more tenders, winning bidders will be given call options - e.g. 0.5 shares per share – for the stake they won. The sale process will proceed in a swift manner skipping preliminary bidding and price adjustment.SCHEDULEPublic announcement on the sale will be made in September. The bids will be closed at the end of November. Final bidders for the controlling stake and winning bidders for minority shares are expected to be selected by the end of 2014.* Please read the attached file for details.
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Jun 19, 2014

Implementation Rules for the Korea-US Tax Information Exchange Agreement

The FSC approved today the Implementation Rules for the Korea-U.S. Tax Information Exchange Agreement, which will be implemented from July 1, 2014. The purpose of the rules is to provide a clear guideline with Korean financial institutions that come under reporting obligation of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act(FATCA) in order to relieve their compliance burden.BACKGROUND: WHAT IS FATCAThe Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act(FATCA) was enacted in 2010 to target tax non-compliance by U.S. taxpayers with foreign accounts. FATCA requires foreign financial institutions(FFIs) to report to the Internal Revenue Service(IRS) information about financial accounts held by U.S. taxpayers, or by foreign entities in which U.S. taxpayers hold a substantial ownership interest. Non-compliant FFIs face a 30% withholding tax on certain U.S.-source payments made to them.Governments around the world are signing intergovernmental agreements with the U.S. government to ease burden of their domestic financial institutions under FA TCA reporting obligation. Korea singed a bilateral agreement with the U.S. in March 2014 on automatic exchange of tax information. Under the bilateral tax deal, financial institutions are required to report their own country’s tax authorities – the National Tax Service(NTS) for Korean financial firms and the IRS for U.S. firms – information about their clients’ financial accounts. The NTS and the IRS will exchange such information in every September starting from 2015.KEY CONTENTS OF THE IMPLEMENTATION RULES1. Financial institutions and financial accounts subject to FATCA reporting obligation- (FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS)* depository institutions (e.g. banks, savings banks), custodial institutions (e.g. securities firms), investment entities (e.g. private equity funds), insurers * Reporting requirement is relieved for certain small financial institutions and local financial firms whose customer base is primarily local.- (FINANCIAL ACCOUNTS) depository ac
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Mar 11, 2014

Comprehensive Measures to Protect Personal Data in the Financial Sector

OVERVIEWThe FSC and relevant ministries jointly announced a package of measures to prevent a recurrence of personal data leaks in the financial sector, as part of the government’s follow-up measures to ensure market discipline under its three-year plan for Korea’s economic innovation.The measures announced today were drawn up based on the following basic principles, further developing a series of measures previously announced since the data leakage from the three credit card companies were revealed last January. 1. Financial firms will be asked a greater responsibility in handling their customers’ personal data at each stage that they collect, retain, use and discard customers’ information. 2. Financial consumers’ right to their personal information will be ensured so that they can decide for what, when and how their own personal data are being used by financial firms. 3. Financial firms will be held more accountable for personal data protection and strictly sanctioned in the event of personal data security breach. 4. Cyber security measures will be strengthened across the financial sector in response to cyber crimes such as hacking. 5. The government will make sure financial consumers’ personal data previously provided or illegally-circulated not to be misused by financial scammers.1. STRENGTHEN PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION AT EACH STAGE THAT FINANCIAL FIRMS COLLECT, RETAIN USE A ND DISCARD CUSTOMERS’DATAFinancial firms will be asked a greater responsibility in handling their customers’ personal data at each stage that they collect, retain, use and discard such information .‘COLLECT’ STAGEFinancial firms will be allowed to collect necessary information at a minim um level from their customers. Currently, financial firms are collecting 30 to 50 items of information from their customers. The list of collected information will be shorted up to 6 items necessarily required for financial transactions.3Additional information should be collected only with
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Feb 04, 2014

Follow-up Measures on Telemarketing Ban

BACKGROUNDThe FSC temporarily banned (Jan.24) financial firms from selling their products by phone, SMS or e-mail until the end of March in order to protect financial consumers from any possible financial scam using illegally-circulated personal data.Since then financial firms are conducting self-inspections due February 14 on their data security to submit a report to the FSS. Based on the result, the FSS plans to inspect financial firms deemed vulnerable to da ta breach in March.FOLLOW-UP MEASURESThe FSC will thoroughly examine whether personal data held by financial firms are all obtained legitimately in order to ease financial consumers’ concern about possible financial fraud, while lifting the temporary ban on telemarketing as soon as the legitimacy is confirmed in a bid to ensure job security of telemarketers.□ TelemarketingInsurance companies are required to submit their CEOs’ confirmation to the FSS by February 7 that ensures personal data used for telemarketing is obtained legitimately from customers. After the FSS review the report, insurers will be allowed to resume telemarketing as early as late next week. If the confirmation submitted by insurers is found to be opposed to facts, the insurers will be faced with strict sanctions.General agencies and card companies will be also allowed to resume telemarketing, presumably at the end of February, as soon as the FSS confirms that person al data used for such marketing activities are legitimately obtained.□ Sales activities by SMS or e-mailFinancial firms will be allowed to sell their products by SMS or e-mail as soon as the FSS confirms the legitimacy of data collection and use and introduce relevant guidelines around the end of March. The FSS will offer financial firms guidelines on strict internal control and compliance procedure about customer data protection.* Please refer to the attached PDF for details.
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Jan 29, 2014

Guideline for Personal Data Protection

10 CHECKLISTS FOR PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION1. Be aware that your credit cards are safe to use. All files and USB drives containing personal information from the three credit card companies were confiscated by the prosecutors and there is no possibility that your credit cards could be used fraudulently.2. Sign up for “credit card payment notification SMS service” provided by credit card companies free of charge to receive SMS notice on every payment settled using your credit card.3. Visit the website of respective credit card companies or make a phone call to call centers to check whether your credit card has been misused.4. No need for extra charge when cancelling or re-issuing credit cards.5. Report to the respective credit card company for any loss via website, call centers, or by visiting nearby office. Cred it card companies will cover all financial loss in case any fraudulent transaction incurs.6. Be reminded that credit card companies, in any case, do not send SMS related to personal data breach.7. Do not click any links attached to emails or SMS from anonymous sources and erase them immediately.8. Do not answer any questions but hang up immediately if you receive phone calls asking for credential information such as credit card PIN number or CVC code from someone claiming to be as someone from public institutions, financial authorities, or financial companies.9. Report immediately to the police(☎112), Financial Supervisory Service(☎1332), or respective financial companies if you suspect any financial fraud.10. Damage Report Center is open 24 hours to provide any assistance related to personal data breach.* Pleaserefer tothe attachedPDF for details.
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Jan 24, 2014

Measures to Protect Personal Data from Illegal Circulation and Use

The FSC and relevant ministries held an emergency meeting on January 24 to come up with measures to protect personal data from illegal circulation and use in a joint effort to relieve financial consumers’ concern that illegally-circulated personal data could be used for fraudulent transaction.BACKGROUNDProsecutors announced (Jan.8 /Jan.19/Jan.21) that about 100 million credit card account details were leaked from Kookmin Card, Nonghyup Card and Lotte Card by a contractor with the personal credit rating company Korea Credit Bureau (KCB) over the course of a year beginning in December 2012. The contractor and the alleged buyers of the information were arrested; and the original files and USB of the stolen data were confiscated with no sign of further circulation.The three credit companies said that there had been no financial damage reported so far related to the breach. The FSS found that sensitive information such as credit card passwords or CVC codes was not included in the stolen data. There is no concern that the leaked information would be used for fraudulent transactions.The measures announced today are to take comprehensive and prompt actions against any possibility of financial fraud using illegally-circulated personal information in order to relieve people’s anxiety about their personal data safety.1. PROTECT PERSONAL DATA FROM ILLEGAL CIRCULATION AND USEProsecutors, the police, and the FSS will immediately launch a joint crackdown indefinitely on illegal circulation and use of personal information. Particularly, unregistered money lenders will be subject to intense scrutiny. For those who illegally circulated and used personal data, prosecutors will demand the maximum sentence possible under the current law.The FSS will conduct inspections on all financial firms to check how they manage customers’ personal data. Monitoring will be strengthened to detect financial fraud using illegally-circulated personal data.Phone numbers suspected to be compromised
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Jan 22, 2014

Measures to Prevent a Recurrence of Personal Data Breach

The FSC and relevant ministries1announced a set of preventive measures to protect financial consumers from personal data breach. The measures are focused on alleviating people’s concerns and inconvenience caused by the recent data leaks; punishing those responsible for the incident; and preventing a recurrence of data theft.BACKGROUNDProsecutors announced (Jan.8 /Jan.19/Jan.21) that about 100 million credit card account details were leaked from Kookmin Card, Nonghyup Card and Lotte Card2 by a contractor with the personal credit rating company Korea Credit Bureau (KCB) over the course of a year beginning in December 2012. The contractor and the alleged buyers of the information were arrested; and the original files and USB of the stolen data were confiscated with no sign of further circulation.The FSS received the data from prosecutors (Jan.10) and found that about 85 million accounts were compromised in total, excluding the number of cards held by the deceased, companies or merchants, although overlaps in multiple cardholders were included.The stolen data includes basic personal data such as names, resident registration numbers, addresses, mobile phone numbers and company names, as well as financial information such as credit card numbers, account numbers, expiry dates and annual income. However, no passwords or CVC codes3 had been stolen.MEASURES TO EASE CONCERNS AND INCONVENIENCE FROM THE INCIDENTThe three credit companies said that there had been no financial damage reported so far related to the breach. The FSS found that sensitive information such as credit card passwords or CVC codes was not included in the stolen data. Credit card companies will cover any financial damage incurred by fraudulent transactions.They will provide a service for free that sends text message notifications for each card transaction to mobile phones. KCB will provide a privacy protection service for one year to anyone who asks for it.Regulators will consider additional identity valid
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Jan 20, 2014

TF Formed to Respond to Personal Information Leaks

The FSC formed a task force (T/F) to respond to the recent leakage of personal information on credit card holders and held its first meeting on January 17 to discuss how to prevent consequences of the incident from spreading and seek for fundamental measures to prevent a repeat of such an incident.BACKGROUNDProsecutors announced on January 8 that personal information of credit card holders were leaked by an employee of an outsourcing company of three credit card companies.The stolen data does not include credit cards’ pass word or CVC code; therefore, it is very unlikely that the leaked information might be misused for financial frau d. Prosecutors also judged that there was no further leakage of the stolen data as they arrested those who had stolen the information and first distributed. There has been no case yet reported as direct damage of the incident.MAJOR CONTENTS OF DISCUSSION1. Measures to prevent further leaks and remedies for those affectedThe card companies will identify details as soon as possible about how and when personal information was leaked and will inform affected customers via SMS, phone, e-mail, and respective financial company’s website.To prevent further damages, the three credit card companies will issue new credit cards to the victims upon request, provide free credit card payment notification SMS service(temporary service), and ban other financial companies subordinated to their mother group from using customers’ private information when promoting their products.Moreover, the responsible credit card firms will operate 24-hour call center, damage control team, and hot line with the FS S to immediately respond to further damages. Respective credit card companies will provide financial reimbursements to the victims of further damage.The FSS is verifying the details of the accident based on information received from the prosecutors. Damages from the data leak will be responded and normalized in a swift manner. The FSS will respond to the
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Sep 16, 2013

Launch of Capital Market Investigation Unit

The FSC officially launched a ‘Capital Market Investigation Unit’ on September 17, 2013 in a bid to address unfair financial transaction practices as announced in the ‘Comprehensive Measures to Eradicate Unfair Transaction’ dated April 18, 2013.The Capital Market Investigation Unit is an organization dedicated to monitoring and investigating unfair trade practices including stock price manipulation. The investigation unit is established under direct control of the FSC Secretary General and staffed with 18 experts from the FSC, the Ministry of Justice, the Financial Supervisory Service(FSS) and the Korea Exchange(KRX).The unit will be notified of all information related to unfair transactions from capital market oversight authorities including the KRX. The reported cases will be classified into urgent and non-urgent categories according to the necessity of forced investigation and potential social impact which will then be assigned to respective authorities. The Capital Market Investigation Unit will serve as a control tower directing and monitoring all procedures throughout the investigation from recognition of case to prosecution phases.The Capital Market Investigation Unit will be tasked with investigating and monitoring unfair trade practices such as stock price manipulation while drafting policies on unfair transactions will remain as the FSC Capital Markets Bureau’s function.*Please read the attached file for details.
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Jul 07, 2013

Insurance Coverage by Local Insurers for Asiana Airline Accident

The Boeing 777 owned by Asiana Airlines that crashed in San Francisco is under aviation insurance worth a total of USD 2.38 billion.The insurance is jointly covered by nine local insurers including LIG Insurance. The local insurers cover only 0.55% of insurance coverage, and the remaining is reinsured by Korean Re (3.45%) and foreign reinsurers (96%).Given that local insurers including Korean Re only cover a 2.5% of the insurance coverage, estimated costs of the airline accident amount to around KRW 5 billion. Insurers Share of underwriting (%) Share of insurance coverage(%) LIG (main insurer) 34.0 0.04 Samsung 14.0 0.3 Hyundai 11.0 0.1 Dongbu 11.0 0.01 Lotte 11.0 0.03 Meritz 7.0 0.03 Hanhwa 7.0 0.02 Heugngkuk 3.0 0.01 NH 2.0 0.01 Korean Re (reinsurer) - 2.0 Total 100.0 2.55 The FSC will closely work with the General Insurance Association of Korea and local insurers to ensure prompt payouts of compensations for victims’ families and injured passengers.* Please read the attached file for details.
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Jun 26, 2013

Plan for Privatization of Woori Finance Holdings

BACKGROUNDThe Public Funds Oversight Committee (PFOC) announced the privatization plan for Woori Finance Holdings after its 78th meeting on June 26, 2013. The Committee members shared common opinion that prompt privatization of Woori Finance Holdings is crucial for recovering the injected public fund and establishing a firm foundation to strengthen our financial industry’s competitiveness. The plan was devised based on the recent market conditions and investment climate.GENERAL PLAN1. General DirectionThe government will sell subsidiary units of Woori Finance Holdings in separate deals to better serve market demands. The 14 subsidiaries of Woori Finance Holdings will be split into three groups for sale. The sale process of each group will be proceeded by the KDIC or Woori Finance Holdings. To facilitate the sale process, the government will simultaneously proceed with the spinoff/merger and the sale process.2. Detailed PlanA. (Regional bank unit) The government will spinoff Woori Finance Holdings to set up Kyongnam Finance Holdings and Kwangju Finance Holdings. The two regional banks, Kyungnam Bank and Kwangju Bank, will be merged with their respective holding companies for sale. The KDIC will sell its 56.7% stake in the two regional banks.B. (Brokerage unit) Sale of Woori Finance Holding’s stake in Woori Investment Securities Co.3, Woori FI, and Woori Financial Group will be initiated concurrently with the sale of regional bank unit.C. (Woori bank unit) Woori Bank will be merged with the remaining Woori Finance Holdings and sold by the KDIC as a bank. Such procedure will be initiated after completing regional bank units’ spinoff and deciding the final bidder of brokerage unit. Minimum bidding level will be decided later with market conditions upon initiation of Woori Finance Holdings’ sale process taken into consideration.* Woori Credit Card, Woori Private Equity Co., Woori FIS Co., Kumho Investment Bank, Woori Finance Research Institute and unsold subsidia
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Mar 21, 2013

FSC Response to Cyberattack on Bank Servers

CURRENT SITUATIONAt around 2 pm on March 20, some banks including Nonghyup Bank, Shinhan Bank, and Cheju Bank suffered computer network failures. As of 11 am on March 21, banks except some branches of Nonghyup have restored their operations.Investigation is now underway to figure out the cause of the incident, but it is presumed that malicious codes were distributed through the servers that caused computer shutdowns at those banks.FSC/FSS RESPONSEThe Financial Services Commission (FSC) and the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) jointly formed an emergency response team to respond the crisis in real time and raised its alert to possible cyberattacks from “attention” to “caution.”The FSS dispatched inspection teams to the affected banks including Shinhan and Nonghyup to look into the cause of the incident and monitor progress in restoring operations.In cooperation with the Information Share Analysis Center (ISAC) by Korea Financial Telecommunications and Clearing institute (KFTC) and Koscom to uncover details of the incident.The Korea Internet Security Agency (KISA) distributed vaccine programs against malicious codes and temporarily shut down servers for vaccine updates in case of additional attacks.The FSC and FSS direct banks to come up with measures to compensate for any losses or damages incurred to customers by the cyberattack, if any.So far, there is no case reported that the incident caused leakage of customers’ personal information.*Please read the attached file for details.
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Mar 08, 2013

FSC Emergency Meeting after the Adoption of U.N. Security Resolution against North Korea

As the U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted new sanctions against North Korea’s nuclear test on February 12, the FSC Vice Chairman Choo Kyung-ho convened an emergency meeting this morning to discuss possible impact that the adoption of U.N. resolution would bring to financial markets.As of now, global financial markets seem to be little affected by the adoption of the U.N. resolution. The U.S. Dow Jones Industrial Average index hit a record-high for three consecutive days. The KRW/USD NDF rate slightly fell from yesterday, and Korea’s credit default swap (CDS) spread rose 1basis point from yesterday to 64basis point.Given that the North Korea-related risks in previous cases had temporary and limited impact on domestic and overseas financial markets, market experts forecast that the possible impact of U.N. sanctions against North Korea would be short-lived.However, the Korean government stays alert to a possibility of North Korea’s further provocation as the resolution imposes tougher sanctions against Pyongyang that previous resolutions. If North Korea took further provocative actions, Korea’s geopolitical risks and market volatility would be heightened.The FSC will closely work with the Ministry of Strategy and Finance (MOSF), the Bank of Korea (BOK), and the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) to monitor financial market conditions and take market-stabilizing actions in a timely manner if needed.*Please read the attached file for details.
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Feb 26, 2013

Plan for Introduction of Synthetic ETFs

The FSC approved a revision to the KOSPI Market Listing Regulation submitted by the Korea Exchange (KRX) at its regular meeting on February 22, 2013 to lay a foundation for introducing synthetic Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) to the KOSPI Market and strengthen criteria for listing and delisting ETFs.With the revision, the FSC expects further diversification of ETF market and stronger investor protection.KEY CONTENTS1. Foundation for introduction of synthetic ETFs1The revision sets a regulatory framework to manage the counterparty risk, with structural features of swap agreements included in synthetic ETFs taken into considerationCounterparties for synthetic ETFs are mandated to meet certain eligibility requirements to enter, operate, exit, and disclosure their investment.2 The ETFs will be delisted if the counterparty risk significantly threatens continued trading of the products.ETF management companies are required to establish systems to evaluate and manage the counterparty risk and collateral assets, and disclosure counterparty risk.2. Strengthened criteria for listing and delisting ETFsThe minimum amount of trust principal for listing ETFs is increased from KRW 5 billion to KRW 7 billion.Listing eligibility test is strengthened for qualitative elements such as whether an ETF product can be continuously traded, or whenter the applicant for listing has proper internal control system.Small ETFs will be reviewed semiannually and delisted if they fail to meet certain criteria.3 In the first half of 2013, small ETFs likely to incur losses to investors4 will be encouraged to be delisted on a voluntary basis.3. Upcoming scheduleSynthetic ETFs are expected to be listed to KRX in the first half of this year after amendments to detailed rules on KRX listing regulation and Listing Guideline.*Please read the attached file for details.
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Feb 12, 2013

FSC/FSS Emergency Meeting on the Effects of North Korea's Nuclear Test

The FSC Vice Chairman Choo Kyungho convened an FSC/FSS emergency meeting at 2:30 pm after North Korea had conducted underground nuclear test Tuesday on February 12, 2013 to discuss the effects of the nuclear test on Korea’s financial market and measures to be taken to keep market stability.Right after North Korea’s nuclear test was reported, the KOSPI temporarily fell by 10 points but instantly bounced back.1 Foreign exchange market also remains stable with a net capital inflow from abroad.As the nuclear test has been widely expected, Korea’s financial market maintains its stability even after the event was confirmed. North Korea’s previous nuclear tests had a limited impact on Korea’s financial market, which had been temporarily affected but quickly recovered to normal conditions prior to the events.Effects of North Korea’s previous nuclear tests on Korea’s financial market t* t+1 t+7 t+15 t+30 1st Nuclear Test (October 9, 2006) KOSPI -2.41% -1.75% +0.17% +0.30% +3.71% USD/KRW +1.54% +1.10% +0.66% -0.47% -1.45% 2nd Nuclear Test (May 25, 2009) KOSPI -0.20% -2.26% +0.79% +0.62% +1.79% USD/KRW +0.09% +1.21% -1.14% +1.17% +1.69% *the day when the event occurredThe FSC/FSS will continue to monitor domestic and overseas financial market situations and execute contingency measures to keep market stable if needed.*Please read the attached file for details.
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Jan 29, 2013

Covered Bonds Act Approved at Cabinet Meeting

The bill on the Covered Bond Act was approved at the Cabinet meeting on January 29, 2013, which will be submitted for parliamentary approval in February 2013.The Covered Bond Act will be enforced in 6 month after its public announcement.For details about the Covered Bond Act, please refer to our press release Legislation Notice of Covered Bond Act published on October 23, 2012.* Please read the attached file for details.
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Dec 12, 2012

FSC/FSS Emergency Meeting on the Effects of North Korea's Rocket Launch

The FSC Vice Chairman Choo Kyungho convened an FSC/FSS emergency meeting at 1:30 pm after North Korea had launched its long- range rocket at 9:51 am Wednesday on December 12, 2012 to discuss the effects of the launch on Korea’s financial market and measures to be taken to keep market stability.As the launch on December 12 has been widely expected, Korea’s financial market remains stable even after the announcement of the rocket launch.1 Market experts view the rocket launch will have a limited impact on Korea’s financial market as North Korea’s previous attempts to test its long-range missile did.2The FSC/FSS will continue to monitor domestic and overseas financial market situations and execute contingency measures to stabilize markets if needed.*Please read the attached file for details.
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Dec 06, 2012

First Annual Status Report on the Hedge Fund Industry

RECENT TRENDThe total asset size of Korea’s hedge fund market has grown to KRW 1 trillion with 12 active management companies with 19 registered funds in a year since it started from KRW 149 billion with 9 fund management companies with 12 funds. (unit: KRW 1 billion) Dec 2011 Mar 2012 Jun 2012 Sept 2012 Nov 2012 total assets 2,370 5,509 6,546 7,858 10,175 (percentage*) (0.2%) (0.5%) (0.6%) (0.7%) (0.8%) no. of funds 12 17 19 20 19 (no. of mgmt (9) (11) (11) (12) (12) companies) * Percentage of asset size of hedge funds out of the total private equity industryHedge funds’ management strategy and investors have been diversified for the last year. Most of hedge funds still rely on long- short strategies; however, the industry plans to sell funds using a variety of strategies such as arbitrage trading and event-driven strategies.Investors’ pool is widening from prime brokers and affiliated companies with brokerage firms in the early stage to institutional investors and affluent retail investors.EVALUATIONThe hedge fund industry made a soft landing in Korea’s capital markets, dismissing initial concerns that the introduction of hedge funds might increase market risks. Hedge fund managers are building their reputation in the market with differentiated performance. As track records of funds with good performance build up, the size of assets under management for such funds is expected to increase.With improved market perceptions about hedge funds, investors’ pool is expected to be expanded to corporations and pension funds.POLICY DIRECTION AHEADIn order to attract capable managers, requirements for approving hedge fund management were relaxed as announced in July 2012. With the eased requirements, the approval process will be completed for asset managers that submit application in December by the end of this year.It is expected a total of 23 firms including 12 asset management companies, 5 brokerage firms and 6 advisory firms will submit application for hedge fun
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Nov 22, 2012

The Korean Government's Position on Lone Star's Filing for Arbitration

Lone Star Funds (“Lone Star”) on November 21, 2012 filed an arbitration claim with the Korean government at the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), claiming that the Korean government violated its obligation under the investment treaty between South Korea and Belgium and Luxembourg.The Korean government does not consent to Lone Star’s claims. Since Lone Star sent a written notice of a dispute in May 2012, the government created a task force to prepare for the arbitration. The Korean government will proactively set forth counter-arguments against Lone Star’s claims and make our best effort in proceeding with the arbitration.* Please read the attached file for details.
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