Expansion of foreigner integrated accounts is expected to activate liquidity in the Korean stock market

The rollout of the comprehensive foreigner account system has lowered the barriers to entering the domestic stock market. As a result, the Korean capital market is considered to be moving one step closer to international trading practices.

In a report dated May 6, 2026, NH Investment & Securities said that the comprehensive foreigner account system may become the starting point for so-called K-stock market advancement. Under the system, overseas investors can buy, sell, and settle Korean stocks in a single transaction through an account held in the name of an overseas securities company, without needing to open a separate account with a domestic securities firm. For overseas investors, the process is simplified; for the domestic market, accessibility is improved.

Previously, the system was more or less only in name and was rarely used in practice. This is because, although the system was introduced in 2017, restrictions on who could open accounts, along with requirements to immediately report trades, created obstacles. Since then, in April 2025, Mirae Asset Securities was designated as an innovative financial service provider, and in August it opened the first comprehensive account in the country. In September, Samsung Securities and Yu Byung-hyun Securities were also added to the list and began preparing the relevant services. Earlier this year, with changes to regulations governing the financial investment industry, restrictions on the entities that may open accounts were removed. As a result, even firms not designated as innovative financial service providers can operate comprehensive accounts.

Actual market developments are also accelerating. Samsung Securities, in partnership with Interactive Brokers, which holds about 4.6 million global client accounts, began a trial run of comprehensive account services in the U.S. market on the 28th of last month. At present, Hana Securities and Samsung Securities are operating the service, and it is understood that Yu Byung-hyun Securities, Mirae Asset Securities, Shinhan Investment Corporation, NH Investment & Securities, KB Securities, and others are also preparing to launch the service. If major securities firms participate successively, the infrastructure for receiving and processing orders from foreigners will expand, and the likelihood of higher trading volumes will increase accordingly.

The market sees the core of this change as “improving accessibility.” This is because, previously, overseas investors had to open accounts directly with domestic securities firms and complete investment registration procedures, but these entry barriers can now be lowered to a large extent. In major financial markets such as the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, and Hong Kong, comprehensive accounts have already been established as a common trading method. Analysts believe that Korea is also aligning with global standards through this system overhaul. In particular, if individual investors residing abroad can gain easier access to the domestic stock market, the base of foreign investment could expand from institutions to individuals.

Ultimately, the comprehensive foreigner account should not be viewed as only a standalone service, but rather as a institutional change linked to expanding liquidity in the domestic stock market and revitalizing the capital market. However, for the system to translate into tangible results, it will need support from the ease of use for overseas investors, system upgrades by domestic securities firms, and the stable operation of the regulatory framework. In the future, this trend may move toward diversifying channels for foreign capital inflows and enhancing the international competitiveness of Korea’s stock market.