In the first half of this year, 10 employees of the Financial Supervisory Service were caught violating stock investment rules. That is higher than the full-year figure for last year. As the market surged this year, FSS employees also appeared to have increased their investments, unable to withstand FOMO (Fear of Missing Out).
According to Rep. Lee Yang-soo of the People Power Party on the 3rd, as of on the 16th of last month, the number of FSS employees who violated stock investment rules was tallied at 10. Nine failed to notify their quarterly trade details, and one violated the one-securities firm, one-account trading rule. The fines imposed per person ranged from 200,000 won to 7.5 million won. Excluding those with minor violations, eight people were fined.
Under the current Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act, FSS executives and employees must notify the fact of account opening and their quarterly trade details when trading financial investment products. They must also use only one securities firm account under their own name.
The Securities and Futures Commission of the Financial Services Commission has the authority to sanction FSS employees who violate rules on trading financial investment products. Typically, the Financial Services Commission identifies FSS employees who violated stock investment rules once a year and issues disciplinary measures.
The number of annual stock investment rule violators detected last year was six (excluding duplicate violators), and the fines per person ranged from 100,000 won to 1 million won. In just the first half of this year, the number of violators exceeded the full-year total for last year, and the maximum fine amount also increased more than sevenfold. The number of stock investment rule violators within the FSS was 13 in 2022, 8 in 2023, 6 in 2024, and 6 in 2025, showing a recent downtrend, but it turned upward again this year.
Rep. Lee Yang-soo said, "It is concerning that cases of FSS employees violating investment rules continue to occur. With the KOSPI rising recently, measures to prevent a recurrence must function so that this does not happen again."