South Korea's Financial Services Commission published the outcomes of the Financial Hub Promotion Committee meeting, which adopted a three-year plan for developing the country’s financial hubs and finalized the framework for assessing Jeonbuk Special Self-Governing Province’s application for financial hub designation. The 2026–2028 plan has four priorities: promoting financial innovation, building globally competitive financial infrastructure, revitalizing capital markets and strengthening financial hub support. Measures include expanding services that reflect artificial intelligence, digital technology and demographic change, improving the regulatory sandbox and fintech environment, making market infrastructure more accessible to foreign investors, strengthening capital market trust and asset management, and supporting Korean financial firms’ overseas expansion. The plan also calls for tailored strategies for Seoul and Busan and stronger engagement with foreign financial firms entering South Korea. A 12-member expert panel will assess Jeonbuk’s application against statutory criteria through a document review and on-site inspection in the third and fourth quarters of 2026. The committee plans to consider whether to grant financial hub status by the end of 2026, based on the commissioned research body’s findings.

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