South Korean government authorities, the central bank, and financial regulators announced in a joint statement on Sunday that foreign entities will no longer need to make prior declarations for most capital transactions involving Korean won transfers between foreigners, conducted through pre-registered foreign institutions, with the exception of domestic real estate transactions. Starting in September, banks will only be required to verify basic account information.

The associated settlements will be processed through a new 24-hour network established by the Bank of Korea, which is scheduled to commence pilot operations in September, with full-scale implementation planned for 2027.

Support measures are being considered to facilitate nighttime operations for the local branches of foreign banks.

Incentive measures will be introduced in September to encourage a shift in trading from non-deliverable forwards to deliverable forwards.

Foreign exchange regulatory measures will be relaxed, including raising the declaration threshold for capital transactions such as providing Korean won loans to foreigners to more than double the previous level, and simplifying the verification procedures for foreign exchange banks handling won-denominated transactions.

To increase offshore market demand for the Korean won, the government will permit foreign investors to conduct securities lending for Korean government bonds and Monetary Stabilization Bonds through international central securities depositories, including Euroclear and Clearstream.