FILE PHOTO: A currency dealer looks at screens at a dealing room of a bank in Seoul June 24, 2013. REUTERS/Lee Jae-Won/File Photo
Currently, it takes two or three years for foreign firms to enter the market as they are required to set up credit lines with at least 10 domestic firms to register as a participant, according to the ministry. For local financial institutions, authorities are allowing them to hand over foreign exchange transactions of domestic residents, such as major exporting companies, to their overseas branches.
South Korea's onshore currency market has been open to registered foreign institutions since July with trading hours extended from 9:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. local time to 2:00 a.m. the next day to cover London trading hours.