Alphabiz - FSS Begins Review of Mirae Asset Securities’ SpaceX Share Subscription Sales

Photo courtesy of Yonhap News

[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) has launched a review of Mirae Asset Securities over its sale of SpaceX share subscriptions to individual and corporate professional investors.

According to financial authorities and industry sources, the FSS began its review on June 5, focusing on whether Mirae Asset Securities properly complied with investor protection rules during the subscription process.

A key area of the review will be whether the brokerage sufficiently informed investors of investment uncertainties, particularly foreign exchange risks.

For Korean investors, if the won-dollar exchange rate — currently nearing 1,550 won per U.S. dollar — declines in the future, they could suffer losses from currency movements even if SpaceX’s share price remains unchanged.

The FSS is also expected to examine whether regulatory loopholes may have exposed investors to potential harm, given that the subscription was offered to individual and corporate professional investors.

Professional investors are generally considered capable of understanding and assuming investment risks on their own, meaning that certain investor protection measures, including explanation obligations under the Financial Consumer Protection Act, are applied in a reduced manner.

Authorities are also believed to be looking into the possibility that investment advisory or discretionary investment firms may have illegally recruited retail investors for proxy subscriptions, or encouraged individuals to hastily register as professional investors for the SpaceX share offering.

Alphabiz Reporter Paul Lee(hoondork1977@alphabiz.co.kr)