Korea to extend forex operating hours from H2 2024

[Photo by Lee Chung-woo]

The South Korean government is pushing for a plan that considers all foreign exchange transactions executed by 2 a.m., Korea Standard Time (KST), to have taken place on the previous day, as part of its earlier announcement to extend the operating hours of the forex market from the second half of next year.

Under the plan, forex transactions executed after midnight will be treated as having been done the day earlier.

Maeil Business Newspaper has learned Sunday that the Seoul Foreign Exchange Committee (FXC) recently approved the plan to treat all transactions executed before 5 p.m. in New York, or 6 a.m. in Korea, as having occurred on the previous day.

In February, the Ministry of Economy and Finance announced a plan to advance the foreign exchange market by extending its operating hours to 2 a.m. the following day from 3:30 p.m. from as early as the second half of next year.

The industry has since been debating the criteria for determining the trading time for transactions concluded after midnight in Korea. The trading time serves as the criteria for recording data such as daily averages.