More than 40 officials from capital market supervisory authorities and international organizations in 23 countries around the world will gather in Korea to share information and sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for international cooperation.

A group photo from the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) C4/SG meeting held in Korea on Oct. 10./Courtesy of Financial Supervisory Service

The Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service announced that from the 10th to the 12th, they will host the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) C4/SG meeting at the Korea Economic Association (FKI) Tower in Yeouido, Seoul.

IOSCO C4 is one of eight policy committees under IOSCO, focusing on discussions regarding investigations of unfair transactions and information sharing among supervisory authorities. The SG meeting will review membership applications for multilateral memoranda of understanding (MMou) and enhanced multilateral memoranda of understanding (EMMou) from other countries.

Lee Yoon-soo, a commissioner of the Securities and Futures Commission, said in his opening remarks, "Unfair transactions not only harm market participants but also severely undermine the trust that is the foundation of capital markets. We will continue to closely cooperate with supervisory authorities in various countries to create a trustworthy market environment."

Since joining the IOSCO EMMou in 2019, Korea has exchanged information on investigations of unfair transactions with foreign supervisory authorities. Recently, as overseas investments by domestic investors have increased, requests for information from foreign supervisory authorities have also risen. The number of information requests, which stood at 8 in 2020, climbed to 6 in 2021, 5 in 2022, and reached a record high of 12 in 2023. Although it slightly decreased to 8 last year, 6 information requests are currently underway as of May this year.

The Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission (SESC) of Japan imposed a penalty surcharge on a Korean investor who traded stocks using undisclosed positive information related to new share subscriptions through information exchanges. Korean supervisory authorities also reported a U.S. corporation that spread false business content and plans for a Nasdaq listing while raising investment funds in Korea, leading to a prosecution.

The Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service stated, "We will strengthen cooperation with foreign supervisory authorities to thoroughly block unfair transactions," and noted, "The Lee Jae-myung government has a firm commitment to the one-strike-out policy against those who engage in acts of unfairness, including stock manipulation."