South Korea’s financial authorities have successfully processed the country’s maiden inbound investment utilizing the newly introduced offshore Korean won settlement infrastructure. The milestone was highlighted during a high-level dialogue with leading global financial institutions to discuss ongoing market modernization and settlement reforms.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance reported on Wednesday that International Economic Affairs Minister Moon Ji-sung hosted the third session of the Global Core Investor Consultative Body via video link. The meeting brought together key representatives from major asset management giants, including BlackRock, Vanguard, and Amundi, alongside industry bodies such as ASIFMA and GFXD.

According to ministry officials, a Singapore-based investment firm recently completed the first end-to-end transaction using the pilot offshore won framework. In late October, the firm established a won-denominated account with a local Registered Foreign Institution for Won Business (RFI-K), converted its local capital into won, and channeled the funds through the Bank of Korea's international settlement network to execute domestic asset purchases. Authorities noted that this successful transaction proves the technical viability of expanding the global utility of the South Korean currency.

The network of approved RFI-K institutions has expanded from six in late September to eleven today. While four major domestic lenders—Kookmin, Shinhan, Ouri, and Hana—currently anchor the Bank of Korea's international ledger, a roster of major global financial institutions is slated to join ahead of the system's formal rollout in January. Minister Moon encouraged prospective international participants to finalize their integration ahead of the official launch.

To further streamline capital flows, Seoul has relaxed several regulatory hurdles. Earlier this month, the ministry raised the annual prior-reporting threshold for offshore won borrowings by foreign securities firms' local subsidiaries from 1 billion won to 50 billion won, aligning branch and subsidiary borrowing frameworks more closely with domestic standards.

During the session, policymakers also shared a preliminary roadmap for transitioning the local stock market to a T+1 settlement cycle. While global asset managers welcomed recent capital market deregulation, they voiced operational concerns regarding potential settlement bottlenecks and administrative burdens under a compressed timeline. In response, the South Korean government pledged to establish robust automated clearing infrastructure and conduct extensive cross-market testing for over six months before finalizing the transition, committing to ongoing dialogue through the consultative body.

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