On 3 September 2024, The Financial Services Commission approved a revision bill for the Enforcement Decree of the Electronic Financial Transactions Act, enhancing the protection of advance payments for electronic prepayment means. The revised rules, effective from September 15, mandate stricter management of advance payments by service providers, expand the regulatory scope, particularly in BNPL services, and introduce rules for third-party transaction entities to enhance customer transparency and protection. For more information, please click here.

On 9 September 2024, The Financial Services Commission announced a set of measures intended to improve regulations on electronic payment settlement agency services (payment gateway or PG services). The proposed measures are aimed at preventing the recurrence of payment delays involving PG services recently seen in the large-scale e-commerce payment failures. The measures have been prepared after coordinating with related government ministries and collecting opinions from experts. For more information, please click here.

On 24 September 2024, The Financial Services Commission has approved a revision bill for the Enforcement Decree of the Microfinance Support Act to enhance microfinance assistance for vulnerable groups amidst challenging economic conditions. The bill includes temporary increases in microfinance contributions for financial companies and incentives for active provision of policy-based microloan products. These adjustments aim to expand guarantee funds and reduce financial burdens on companies until December 31, 2025, fostering a stable framework for policy-based microfinance support in South Korea. For more information, please click here.

On 25 September 2024, The Financial Services Commission is set to approve the establishment of the Digital Asset Protection Foundation on September 26, as part of the digital asset industry's self-regulatory efforts led by the Digital Asset Exchange Association (DAXA). This initiative seeks to safeguard users' assets and ensure a secure marketplace environment for virtual asset transactions. The foundation will oversee the transfer, safekeeping, and management of assets from closed exchange service providers, with the goal of returning these assets to their rightful owners after a consultation process. For more information, please click here.

On 26 September 2024, The Financial Services Commission announced that the National Assembly passed a revision bill of the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act (FSCMA) on September 26, focusing on enhancing regulations related to short selling. This legislation marks the formal integration of short sale reform measures into law, following the ban on short selling imposed in November last year due to concerns about naked short selling activities' impact on market fairness. The revised FSCMA mandates institutional investors to establish electronic short sale processing systems, introduces stock repayment period restrictions, strengthens penalties for unfair trading and illegal short selling, and implements new sanctions mechanisms to bolster enforcement measures. For more information, please click here.

No enforcement updates for September