On the 6th the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) said it has sent investigation
reports to 15 financial institutions suspected of coordinating bid yields in
competitive government bond auctions totaling about KRW 76 tln and has opened a
sanction review. The KFTC says firms exchanged information and coordinated bid
rates between Jan 2020 and June 2023, characterizing the behavior as a serious
legal breach that may have affected the government bond market and warning fines
could reach KRW 15 tln. The firms dispute the finding, arguing market‑making
activities conducted within a government framework are being mischaracterized as
collision.
