Korea

The funding support includes additional support for small merchants, a new special lending programme, and additional funding for distressed asset manager KAMCO.

The approval of the preliminary financial investment business licence marks the FSC's first approval of a foreign-based trading firm in three and a half years.

The FSC has revised the FSCMA enforcement decree as part of efforts to strengthen penalties for illegal short selling, as it prepares to lift a ban on short selling in March.

Large companies will have to disclose ESG information from 2025. This will expand to all KOSPI-listed companies from 2030.

The FSS will look into whether loans granted to executives violated the capital market law and whether the firm influenced a merger involving one of its subsidiaries.

The FSS said it will impose sanctions on companies identified as being engaged in such practices, including to refer cases for criminal prosecution as needed.

A special purpose vehicle created in July to support the corporate bond and commercial paper markets will be extended another six months.

The selected banks will play a leading role in price formation and in supplying liquidity to the KRW/RMB direct trading market.

The application process for private fund managers to set up and manage feeder funds under the New Deal fund began in December 2020.

A new enforcement decree will take effect in February 2021, lowering the maximum interest rate on loans from 24% to 20%.