Yi Whan-woo is a Korea Times journalist primarily covering finance. He writes in-depth articles on macroeconomy and financial markets and previously covered sports, politics, diplomacy and inter-Korean affairs, among others. Feel free to contact him at yistory@koreatimes.co.kr.
Korea-UK partnership prompts rosy outlook for finance sector
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho, third from right in the front row, applauds as he attends the daily opening ceremony of the London Stock Exchange, Nov. 23. Choo joined the ceremony, on the occasion of President Yoon Suk Yeol's U.K state visit from Nov. 20 to 23. Courtesy of Ministry of Economy and Finance
By Yi Whan-woo
President Yoon Suk Yeol’s latest state visit to the United Kingdom is fueling optimism for financial cooperation in both public and private sectors between the two countries.
London still remains one of the world’s leading financial hubs despite Brexit that has cast doubt on whether such prestige can be retained in the years to come.
Under the circumstances, Korea and the U.K. agreed to open their first government-to-government dialogue channel by the end of next year on the occasion of Yoon’s U.K. trip from Nov. 20 to 23.
The channel, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, will “offer a stage to comprehensively discuss issues on fiscal and monetary policies, financial markets,” among others.
The ministry assessed that the channel especially will be crucial to jointly counter heightened global economic uncertainties and geopolitical security risks.
Concerning private sector cooperation, the two countries decided to open a dialogue channel exclusively aimed at enhancing strategic investment. The channel is also planned to launch by the end of 2024 at the latest.
The cooperation comes as Korea, beginning in July 2024, will extend operating hours of the foreign exchange market to 2 a.m. The market currently runs from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
The country ultimately seeks to open the market around the clock to upgrade it to global standards. And the Seoul market’s extended time of closing was decided to run in tandem with the operating hours of the London market.
To attract offshore investors, Korea will allow foreign companies’ participation in the domestic foreign exchange market.
“We hope the traders in the foreign exchange markets of the two countries can interact efficiently,” the ministry said.
It went on to say, “We expect to see the presence of new British investment banks and securities firms as well as Korean firms in each other’s markets.”
Speaking before the daily opening ceremony of the London Stock Exchange, Nov. 23, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho said Seoul will “strive to boost foreign investors’ access to the Korean market and create favorable conditions for corporate investment.”
Choo was the first Korean official to attend the ceremony, concerning which the ministry assessed “highlights much-anticipated financial cooperation with the U.K.”
Yoon’s U.K. trip drew attention as banking CEOs, who rarely join presidential overseas visits, were included in the economic delegation.
The CEOs from all five biggest commercial lenders joined the trip, including Shinhan Bank that signed a deal with the U.K. Department for Business and Trade to investment 1 billion pounds ($1.25 billion) in the next five years.
The Seoul-headquartered bank said it wants to capitalize on London as a center to raise its capital abroad and correspondingly expand investment in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) market.