The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) fined 15 domestic financial firms a total
of 1.627 trillion won (about $1.21bn) for colluding in Korean government bond
auctions. The KFTC said a year-long probe found primary dealers — five banks and
ten securities firms — shared information or coordinated bid yields and sizes in
145 auctions from Jan 2020 to Jun 2023, artificially suppressing yields and
harming the treasury. Seven firms will be referred to prosecutors for criminal
charges for longer or more frequent involvement; KB Securities, NH Investment &
Securities and Mirae Asset Securities are among those facing prosecution and
drew some of the largest fines.
