Korea Exchange Hosts WFE CLEAR 2025 Conference

The Korea Exchange announced on the 1st that it successfully hosted the 'WFE (World Federation of Exchanges) Clear 2025' conference.

Held from today until the 3rd at the Fairmont Ambassador Hotel in Yeouido, Seoul, this event is the world's largest clearing and derivatives conference organized by the WFE, bringing together distinguished figures from domestic and international exchanges, central counterparties (CCPs), regulatory authorities, financial institutions, academia, and industry experts to share knowledge and experience in an international exchange forum.

Jung Eun-bo, Chairman of the Korea Exchange, is delivering the opening address at the 'WFE CLEAR 2025' conference held on the 1st at the Fairmont Ambassador Seoul Hotel in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Korea Exchange

A total of over 170 participants from 60 countries, including exchanges, central counterparties (CCPs), regulatory authorities, financial institutions, and academic and industry experts, gathered at this event to share knowledge and experience and to present future directions for the industry's development.

At the opening ceremony, there were opening remarks by Jung Eun-bo, Chairman of the Korea Exchange; Lee Yoon-soo, Standing Commissioner of the Securities and Futures Commission; and Nandini Sukumar, CEO of the WFE.

Chairman Jung Eun-bo introduced the Korea Exchange's efforts to strengthen clearing and settlement stability, emphasizing that "in line with changes in the global financial and technological environment, it is important for CCPs to actively adopt new technologies, closely cooperate with regulatory authorities and government agencies, and strengthen global collaboration."

Standing Commissioner Lee Yoon-soo mentioned that CCPs play a crucial role in maintaining financial market stability, mitigating systemic risks, and enhancing market participants' trust, stressing the need for continued cooperation among WFE members in the future.

CEO Nandini Sukumar also expressed gratitude to the Korea Exchange for successfully hosting the 41st conference, highlighting the importance of this event to enhance understanding of clearing and settlement infrastructure and strengthen cooperation, while urging continuous efforts such as expanding WFE research and promoting innovation.

Key attendees of the WFE CLEAR 2025 conference are taking a commemorative photo. From the left: Kim Ki-kyung, Head of Management Support Division at Korea Exchange; Lee Yoon-soo, Standing Commissioner of the Securities and Futures Commission; Jung Eun-bo, Chairman of Korea Exchange; Nandini Sukumar, CEO of WFE; Pedro Gurrola Perez, Head of Research at WFE; Park Chan-soo, Head of Clearing and Settlement Division at Korea Exchange. Provided by Korea Exchange.

The event consists of four differentiated sessions: keynote speeches, capacity building, panel discussions, and academic paper presentations.

The keynote speeches provide a comprehensive overview of the clearing and derivatives field from a macro perspective, including the role of CCPs amid changes in the global financial environment and an evaluation of the 15-year introduction of mandatory central clearing for over-the-counter derivatives.

The capacity building session deeply analyzes CCP-related topics such as CCP functions and operations, the optimal timing for establishing CCPs, CCP-centered capital market regulatory frameworks, and methodologies for CCP risk management.

During the panel discussions, challenges and opportunities in the clearing and derivatives field are presented, including clearing in the era of 24/7 trading, adoption of distributed ledger technology (DLT), use of artificial intelligence (AI), and group-level CCP risk management. Following this, academic paper presentations offer new perspectives and insights into clearing and derivatives, such as analyses of individual investor trading behavior in the U.S. options market and advanced risk measurement techniques based on specific algorithms.

The Korea Exchange stated, "We will strive to ensure that this conference leads to the development and innovation of Korea's clearing and derivatives industry," adding, "We plan to promote institutional improvements, strengthen cooperation with regulatory authorities, and expand global partnerships by reflecting the analyses and recommendations of domestic and international experts."