South Korea's Ministry of Economy and Finance has proposed amendments to ease foreign exchange reporting and borrowing restrictions as part of its won internationalization roadmap. The reforms would replace several prior notification requirements with post-transaction reporting, raise thresholds for won borrowing and lending, permit won use in multinational cash pooling and expand funding options for domestic branches of foreign securities firms. Foreign exchange banks would report long-term foreign currency borrowing above USD 100 million within two business days, replacing prior notification above USD 50 million. Long-term won borrowing from nonresidents above KRW 50 billion would also move to post-transaction reporting. For won-denominated securities, issues of up to KRW 50 billion would shift from prior notification to post-transaction reporting, while larger issues would remain subject to prior notification. The annual threshold for residents’ won borrowing from nonresidents would rise from KRW 1 billion to KRW 50 billion, and the threshold governing Bank of Korea notification for banks’ won lending to nonresidents would increase from KRW 30 billion to KRW 50 billion. Multinational cash pooling arrangements would be allowed to include won, with the overall ceiling doubled from USD 50 million to USD 100 million. Domestic branches of foreign securities firms would be permitted to borrow foreign currency and won from nonresidents under the same limits as locally incorporated firms, while foreign investors could place won held in investment-only accounts into short-term financial products. The ministry plans to finalize the amendments after consultation and implement them by the end of 2026.

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