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Crypto exchanges to face tighter asset-matching system following Bithumb's blunder

All crypto exchanges in Korea are asked to set up a system to check and verify their internal ledgers with actual crypto holdings every five minutes, the financial regulator said Monday. According to the Financial Services Commission (FSC), three out of five major crypto exchanges here have been reconciling their asset matching every 24 hours, with the remaining two balancing their internal ledgers with actual holdings between every five minutes and ten minutes. Also, their trade-halting systems, also known as kill switches, were found to have some flaws in cases where a massive asset mismatch occurs, according to the FSC. The regulator said all crypto exchanges are asked to set up the asset-matching system by the end of May and disclose their asset-matching balance every day, which also requires external checks by accounting firms every month. Related regulations will be drawn up into a bill aimed at regulating the overall virtual asset market. The government and the ruling Democratic Party have been working to fine-tune the bill. The FSC's step came as Bithumb, one of Korea's crypto exc

Apr 6, 2026By Yonhap
Crypto exchanges to face tighter asset-matching system following Bithumb's blunder

Korea to exempt shipping surcharges from tariffs amid Hormuz disruptions

Korea will temporarily exempt additional shipping costs from tariffs on Middle East imports rerouted due to disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, the government said Friday, as concerns mount over raw material shortages. The government will also fast-track customs clearance for key energy and raw materials to ease supply bottlenecks. The measures are part of a broader deregulatory package announced by the Ministry of Economy and Finance, in coordination with other agencies such as the industry ministry and Korea Customs Service, aimed at stabilizing supply chains without additional fiscal spending. "The government will exclude additional shipping costs caused by detours around the Strait of Hormuz from import duty calculations, easing the burden on importers," First Vice Finance Minister Lee Hyoung-il said during a briefing. Officials said the changes will be reflected in a planned revision to the enforcement decree of the Customs Act next week, and will be applied retroactively to shipments already affected by sharp increases in freight costs. The decision comes as freight rates have surg

Apr 3, 2026By Lee Hyo-jin
Korea to exempt shipping surcharges from tariffs amid Hormuz disruptions

Lee urges public transportation control measures

President Lee Jae Myung has called on the government to prepare traffic control measures during commuting hours as part of energy-saving steps amid the war in the Middle East, a senior official said Thursday. A senior presidential official told reporters that Lee instructed the transportation ministry to take the lead on such measures, including potential adjustments to free public transportation use for seniors aged 65 and older during peak hours. The government plans to tighten a five-day vehicle rationing system in the public sector to a two-day rotation next week, while encouraging voluntary participation from the private sector and promoting the use of public transportation. Lee has previously proposed limiting free transit access for seniors during peak hours if measures such as a license plate-based vehicle rotation system are expanded, in order to reduce congestion on public transportation. The instruction came after reports of confusion over whether the transport, welfare or environment ministry should oversee the issue. The government raised its resource security crisis warning

Apr 2, 2026By Yonhap
Lee urges public transportation control measures

Will Korea's WGBI debut bring FX stability?

Korea's inclusion in the World Government Bond Index (WGBI) took effect Wednesday, raising expectations that fresh foreign inflows could help support the weakening won. According to financial authorities, the inclusion of Korean government bonds into the index operated by London-based FTSE Russell will be phased in over eight months through November. The WGBI currently comprises government bonds from 25 countries, and Korea's weighting is expected to reach around 2 percent, making it the ninth-largest among members. Inclusion in the index is expected to trigger investment from global institutional investors, including pension funds and asset managers that track the benchmark. The Ministry of Finance and Economy said it held a kick-off meeting for a task force the same day with the Financial Services Commission, the Bank of Korea, the Financial Supervisory Service and the Korea Securities Depository to monitor WGBI-related capital inflows and promote further investment. Koo Yun-cheol, deputy prime minister and finance minister, said the inclusion to the global index is expected to help sta

Apr 1, 2026By Lee Hyo-jin
Will Korea's WGBI debut bring FX stability?

KRX, Hang Seng Indexes Company launch four cross-market indexes

The Korea Exchange (KRX) said Tuesday it has partnered with Hong Kong's Hang Seng Indexes Company Ltd. (HSIL) to launch four cross-market stock indexes aimed at expanding investment opportunities across key industries in the two markets. The lineup includes one index that combines the benchmark indexes of both countries, along with three thematic indexes focused on semiconductors, IT and biotechnology, the Korean bourse operator said. The indexes are weighted at about 65 percent Hong Kong assets and 35 percent South Korean assets. The KRX said the indexes are aimed at providing investors exposure to the broader stock market of the two countries. The collaboration comes as investor interest in both markets has remained strong, with South Korea's and Hong Kong's benchmark indexes rising more than 75 percent and 27 percent, respectively, last year. The KRX added that it plans to build on the partnership with HSIL and introduce additional thematic indexes in areas where investor demand is growing.

Mar 31, 2026By Yonhap
KRX, Hang Seng Indexes Company launch four cross-market indexes

BOK chief nominee shrugs off concerns over weakening won

Bank of Korea (BOK) Gov. nominee Shin Hyun-song downplayed concerns over the weakening Korean won Tuesday, saying the exchange rate does not necessarily signal financial instability. "The exchange rate level itself should not be given too much significance," Shin told reporters on his way to the office. "Rather, it reflects how much risk the financial system can absorb. In that sense, there is no major concern at this point." "Unlike in the past, there is no need to directly link exchange rate movements with financial instability," he added. The nominee's remarks come as the Korean currency has hovered around the 1,500 level against the U.S. dollar in recent trading days, pressured by foreign selling of domestic stocks amid the ongoing Middle East crisis. Shin cited the Middle East conflict as the biggest near-term risk to the economy, warning that higher oil prices could fuel inflation while weighing on growth. "Given the high level of uncertainty over how the situation will unfold in the Middle East, it is difficult to say more at this point," he said. Hours after his remarks, the centra

Mar 31, 2026By Lee Hyo-jin
BOK chief nominee shrugs off concerns over weakening won

Gov't plans cash aid for 35.8 mil. people to cushion oil price shock

The Lee Jae Myung administration plans to distribute cash assistance ranging from 100,000 won ($65) to 600,000 won per person to about 35.8 million people, covering the bottom 70 percent of income earners, in a bid to help offset the strain from elevated oil prices linked to the Middle East conflict, according to the budget ministry Tuesday. The measure, which will require 4.8 trillion won, is part of a 26.2 trillion won supplementary budget plan aimed at cushioning households and businesses from rising energy and logistics costs as the conflict persists. The government’s move reflects an urgent fiscal response as surging global oil prices raise concerns that the Korean economy could face a “triple shock” of high inflation, elevated interest rates and weakening currency. The extra budget plan focuses on easing high oil price pressures as well as supporting vulnerable households, limiting industrial fallout and stabilizing supply chains. Approved at a Cabinet meeting, the bill was submitted to the National Assembly for passage the same day, and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea a

Mar 31, 2026By Jun Ji-hye
Gov't plans cash aid for 35.8 mil. people to cushion oil price shock

KRX finds 76 suspected illegal short-selling cases over past year

Korea's bourse operator said Monday it had identified 76 suspected cases of illegalities in short selling in the first year since launching a real-time monitoring system and referred them to authorities for investigation. The Korea Exchange (KRX) detected the cases through its naked short selling detection system (NSDS), introduced on March 31 last year, when the country resumed short selling in the local market, the bourse operator said. Of them, 68.4 percent were cases valued at less than 100 million won ($65,823) each. Under the NSDS system, an average of 15 million short-selling transactions had been monitored each day, the bourse operator said. The total value of short-selling transactions over the past year till last Friday stood at 289.3 trillion won. Of them, 91.3 percent, or 264.2 trillion won, involved 24 financial institutions participating in the NSDS, the KRX added. The daily average short-selling transaction value rose from approximately 170 billion won in February to around 240 billion won this month, according to the KRX. Korea's benchmark index KOSPI experienced sharp vola

Mar 30, 2026By Yonhap
KRX finds 76 suspected illegal short-selling cases over past year

2027 fiscal policy to potentially reach $529 bil. with goal of AI transformation

Korea will pursue an expansionary fiscal policy next year to accelerate a major transition centered on artificial intelligence (AI), the government said Monday, with spending potentially approaching 800 trillion won ($529 billion). Under a set of guidelines approved by the Cabinet on the day, the government also aims to foster new growth engines and place greater fiscal emphasis on regional development, the Ministry of Planning and Budget said. According to the government's fiscal management plan for 2025-2029, spending for next year is set at 764.4 trillion won, up 5 percent from the budget of 728 trillion won in 2026. The figure does not reflect a supplementary budget of about 25 trillion won currently under preparation. If expansionary fiscal policies continue alongside improved tax revenues, next year's budget could potentially rise to around 800 trillion won. "At this point, what we can say is that we will pursue active fiscal management, as well as sustainable expansionary fiscal policy, yet it is difficult to predict the exact size of next year's fiscal spending," Cho Yong-beom, a

Mar 30, 2026By Yonhap
2027 fiscal policy to potentially reach $529 bil. with goal of AI transformation

Finance ministry, Exim Bank review $6.6 bil. policy financing execution amid Middle East tensions

The government has reviewed measures to ensure the swift execution of a 10 trillion-won ($6.6 billion) policy financing program prepared to respond to the prolonged conflict in the Middle East, the finance ministry said Monday. The review was conducted during a meeting between officials from the ministry and the state-run Export-Import Bank of Korea (Exim Bank) held Friday amid escalating tensions in the Middle East following U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran. Exim Bank has expanded the size of its emergency response financing program, originally set at 7 trillion won, to 10 trillion won to support domestic companies affected by the conflict. As of Wednesday, about 20 percent of the target amount had been executed, the ministry said. Exim Bank is also providing support measures for small and medium-sized enterprises affected by the conflict, including loan maturity extensions and repayment deferrals, it added.

Mar 30, 2026By Yonhap
Finance ministry, Exim Bank review $6.6 bil. policy financing execution amid Middle East tensions
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