Can foreign retail investors buy Korean stocks and ETFs without a Korean account? The omnibus account timeline
Korea's omnibus account lets an overseas broker trade Korean shares for its clients in one account. A 2025 guideline opened it up; ETFs and ETNs were added from 15 September 2026, leveraged and inverse products excluded.
AI-assisted, human-reviewed sourcing. Figures are pulled programmatically from the official sources listed at the end of this article and checked by an editor before publication.
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Foreign investors’ selling has been blamed for Korea’s recent market falls, and Korean press this week asked what would bring foreign money back. One answer keeps coming up: make it easier for individuals abroad to buy Korean shares. The tool for that is the omnibus account. Here is what it is and when each step happened, from regulators’ and newspapers’ published records.
What an omnibus account is
Normally a foreign investor needs an account with a Korean broker and an investor registration. In an omnibus account, an overseas broker holds one account in Korea and trades for all its clients through it. The end investor uses the account they already have at home.
The system dates from 2017. It was little used: the rules limited who could open such accounts. A guideline issued on 27 November 2025 by the Financial Services Commission, the Financial Supervisory Service, the Korea Financial Investment Association and the Korea Securities Depository set out how it works. Among the duties it lists: the overseas broker keeps records of each final investor’s trades for 10 years and reports to the Korean broker every month.
Timeline
| Date | Step | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Omnibus account system introduced | FSC |
| Apr 2025 | Sandbox designation lets small and mid-sized overseas brokers open accounts | FSC |
| Aug 2025 | First account: Hana Securities with Hong Kong’s Emperor Securities | FSC |
| 27 Nov 2025 | Usage guideline issued; rule to lift opener limits targeted for 2 Jan 2026 | FSC |
| 28 Apr–7 May 2026 | Interactive Brokers starts through Samsung Securities (dates differ by report) | SE Daily, EBN |
| 21 May 2026 | FSC chairman says ETFs will be added | JoongAng Daily |
| 9 Sep 2026 | Amended rule notified | EBN |
| 15 Sep 2026 | ETFs and ETNs tradable via omnibus accounts; leveraged and inverse excluded | EBN |
| 1 Jan 2027 | Withholding-tax rule applies; industry expects full ETF trading | Money Today |
Two cautions. A rule being in force is not the same as every investor being able to trade: EBN noted that each Korean and overseas broker pair must change its contracts and systems first. And a Korean newspaper this week dated the guideline to April 2026; the guideline we could find is November 2025. We list that as unverified.
How much has come in
Through omnibus accounts, foreign investors traded 5.8 trillion won and net bought 2.2 trillion won, according to the Seoul Economic Daily (period 26 April to 15 May 2026). Money Today later reported the same totals for 6 February to 15 May. We show both dates because the reports differ.
For scale, net assets of Korean-listed ETFs were 519.7 trillion won on 25 June 2026 (Hankyung Magazine, citing the Korea Exchange). Until 15 September, none of that ETF market was open to omnibus accounts.
Who already holds Korean securities
Our foreign holdings page adds up what other countries report holding. At the end of 2024, 75 reporting economies held 636.2 billion US dollars of Korean securities. The United States held 195.4 billion, Singapore 73.9 billion, and Hong Kong 39.0 billion, up from 31.2 billion a year earlier. Taiwan, often named as a source of retail demand for Korean chip stocks, does not report to the IMF, so its holdings are not measured here.
Access is two things
Trading access is one half. The other is information, and it is still mostly in Korean. In our archive of Korean broker research, 86% of KOSDAQ companies drew no report in ten weeks (the research gap, counted). Opening an account does not translate a report.
Facts and dates only. This is not investment, tax or legal advice. Check with your own broker what it offers.
Data: Who holds Korean securities abroad · Analyst attention by sector. Related: The research gap, counted · When do Korean companies report quarterly earnings? · All of KOSDAQ is worth less than half of SK hynix.
Data & Verification Notes
- Data as of
- Sources
- Financial Services Commission (Korea), press release, 27 November 2025 — Omnibus account usage guideline issued by the FSC, FSS, KOFIA and KSD: foreigners can invest in Korean stocks through an overseas broker's omnibus account without opening a Korean account. System introduced in 2017; April 2025 regulatory-sandbox designation for small and mid-sized overseas brokers; first account opened in August 2025 (Hana Securities with Emperor Securities); Samsung and Yuanta designated in September 2025; rule change removing the limit on who may open accounts pre-announced 28 October to 11 November 2025, with a target effective date of 2 January 2026; final-investor trade records kept for 10 years; monthly reports by the 10th of the following month.
- Seoul Economic Daily, 21 May 2026 — Omnibus trading of 5.8 trillion won and net buying of 2.2 trillion won from 26 April to 15 May 2026; Interactive Brokers pilot through Samsung Securities from 28 April 2026; Hana and Samsung offering the service, six more brokers preparing; FSC plan to extend the scope to ETFs.
- Korea JoongAng Daily, 21 May 2026 — FSC Chairman Lee Eog-weon: regulations will be revised so offshore retail investors can trade ETFs through omnibus accounts.
- News Tomato, 29 June 2026 — Planned amendment adding ETFs and ETNs to omnibus accounts; leveraged and inverse products expected to be excluded; separate limits under review for ETFs holding stocks with foreign-ownership caps.
- EBN, 15 September 2026 — Amended Financial Investment Business Regulation notified on 9 September and in force from 15 September 2026, allowing ETF and ETN trading through omnibus accounts, excluding leveraged and inverse ETFs and ETNs; actual start depends on contracts and systems between Korean and overseas brokers; Samsung Securities and Interactive Brokers soft-opened on 4 May and launched on 7 May.
- Money Today, 26 September 2026 — Industry expects full ETF trading through omnibus accounts from 1 January 2027, when a withholding-tax special rule applies; Hana Securities first launched the service in October 2025 by the paper's account; Samsung in May 2026.
- Hankyung Magazine, 29 June 2026 (citing Korea Exchange) — Net assets of Korean-listed ETFs: 519.7 trillion won on 25 June 2026.
- IMF Portfolio Investment Positions (PIP), mirror data, collected by SeoulMarkets 17 September 2026 — Holdings of Korean securities reported by 75 economies at end-2024: total 636.2 billion US dollars; United States 195.4 billion, Singapore 73.9 billion, United Kingdom 49.7 billion, Hong Kong 39.0 billion.
- Cross-checks
- Omnibus trading totals of 5.8 trillion won traded and 2.2 trillion won net bought appear in both the Seoul Economic Daily (21 May) and Money Today (26 September). The two give different start dates for the period: 26 April and 6 February 2026.
- The Interactive Brokers start date differs between reports: 28 April 2026 (pilot, Seoul Economic Daily) and 4 May soft opening, 7 May launch (EBN).
- Hana Securities: first omnibus account opened in August 2025 (FSC); Money Today dates the start of its service to October 2025.
- Hong Kong holdings of Korean securities rose from 31.2 billion dollars at end-2023 to 39.0 billion at end-2024 (IMF PIP mirror).
- Excluded figures
- Whether the 2 January 2026 target date for removing the limit on who may open omnibus accounts was met. We did not find the FSC notice confirming the effective date.
- An omnibus account guideline dated April 2026. A Korean newspaper on 26 October referred to an April 2026 guideline; the guideline we could find is the FSC's of 27 November 2025, and the April 2026 events we found are a broker pilot and trading figures.
- The final rule on ETFs that hold stocks with foreign-ownership caps. It was under review in June; we did not find the outcome.
- Which overseas brokers offer Korean ETFs today. Availability depends on each broker; we have not surveyed them.
- Taiwan's holdings of Korean securities. Taiwan is not among the 75 economies in the IMF data; not measured.
- Tax treatment for any individual investor. This is not tax, legal or investment advice.
The full dataset behind these figures — every listed company, every row — is available to license. SeoulMarkets data for licence →
Not investment advice. SMarkets publishes data journalism for general information only. Nothing here is investment advice, a recommendation, or an offer to buy or sell any security — any investment you make is at your own risk and responsibility. Figures are derived from official public data sources and may be revised by the issuing agency. Verify independently before acting.
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