The Financial Supervisory Service recently visited Toss Securities, which has faced a series of controversies over investor protection, and asked management to reexamine its internal controls and financial consumer protection system.
According to the securities industry on the 26th, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) department head in charge of examining Toss Securities visited the company's headquarters the previous afternoon and met with CEO Kim Gyu-bin and executives overseeing consumer affairs, IT systems, and information security.
At the meeting, they were said to have discussed recent cases of insufficient investor protection at Toss Securities and its internal control system. There was also reportedly a request to strengthen internal approval and decision-making procedures in the process of product advertising and new service launches, and to check whether the related procedures are functioning properly.
It is unusual for a department head at the supervisory authority to visit an individual securities firm directly to discuss internal controls with management. Toss Securities was said to have conveyed that it recognizes the issues and will conduct a comprehensive review of its internal control system to make improvements.
Toss Securities has faced multiple controversies over investor protection. During the launch of its overseas stock options service, it suspended the related service after criticism that advertisements emphasizing profit potential could encourage high-risk investing. In 2024, it labeled margin trading as "on credit trading" before changing the term, and in the second quarter of this year, it made an error that displayed Kolmar Korea's results during trading hours as more than 50% lower than actual.
More recently, Toss Securities faced questions over the effectiveness of investor protection after it offered a "play hidden" function that allowed the mandatory educational video to play while hidden on the screen during the process of opening an overseas options account. After debate over the effectiveness of investor protection, Toss Securities subsequently discontinued the feature. (Related article☞[Exclusive] Overseas options education "play hidden"… Toss Securities halts after controversy)
However, since it is hard to conclude that the "hidden play" feature clearly violated current rules, it is unlikely to immediately lead to an inspection or sanctions. An FSS official said, "The supervisory authority also views this seriously, and if similar problems are repeated, it seems necessary to respond in a stronger way."