Business · Companies · 1 hr ago
97 employees at South Korea’s top brokerages sanctioned for trading violations
South Korean regulators sanctioned 97 employees at 10 major brokerages for breaking rules on personal stock trading between 2021 and August 2026.
The employees traded a combined 8.85 billion won, based on the maximum investment principal reported.
The rules require brokerage staff to trade through one account in their own name and report transactions to their employer, helping prevent misuse of confidential information.
The law allows fines of up to 50 million won, but the typical fine was about 4.5 million won and the highest was 25 million won.
Thirty of the 97 employees had left their firms before sanctions, and 12 of the 19 people given the toughest penalties had already left.
Among the 67 still employed, none was dismissed, and 40 received only a warning-level penalty or a fine.
The cases have raised concerns that internal checks and penalties are too weak, including when employees leave before disciplinary action.
A lawmaker called for stronger ongoing monitoring and more effective sanctions; no further action was specified.
South Korea’s 10 largest securities firms had 97 employees sanctioned for violating stock-trading rules between 2021 and August 2026.
The employees’ trades involved a total of 8.8536 billion won, based on maximum investment principal.
Thirty of those sanctioned had already left their firms, and 12 of the 19 who received dismissal or suspension-level penalties were former employees.
The median fine per person was about 4.5 million won, while the largest fine was 25 million won, below the legal maximum of 50 million won.
Lawmaker Kim Hyun-jung said repeated violations showed that firms’ internal controls were not working properly.
- Who
- Employees of South Korea’s 10 largest securities firms.
- What
- Ninety-seven employees were sanctioned for violating stock-trading rules.
- When
- From 2021 through August 2026.
- Where
- South Korea.
- Why
- The rules are intended to prevent employees of financial investment firms from using undisclosed information for personal gain.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Eleven employees were sanctioned for violations involving 827 million won in trades.
Sixty-seven employees were sanctioned across the two years, involving trades worth about 6.847 billion won.
Seventeen employees were sanctioned across the two years.
Two employees were sanctioned for trades involving 173.8 million won.
- Sanctioned employees
- 97
- Firms covered
- South Korea’s 10 largest securities firms
- Period covered
- 2021–August 2026
- Total trade value
- 8.8536 billion won
- Median fine
- About 4.5 million won per person
- Legal fine maximum
- 50 million won
What people are saying
Repeated violations of securities firm employees’ stock-trading rules, despite being a basic rule for protecting market trust, show that internal controls are not functioning properly.