22 Out of 39 MSCI Developed Markets Index Tasks to Be Implemented in the First Quarter
On the 27th, when the KOSPI index started the session weak after 7 trading days, the exchange rate, KOSPI, and KOSDAQ indices were displayed on the index status board at the Hana Bank dealing room in Jung-gu, Seoul. 2026.02.27 Photo by Dongjoo Yoon
The government has designated the internationalization of the Korean won as a key task for the advancement of the Korean economy and plans to announce a comprehensive strategy within the first half of the year. In addition, the authorities intend to accelerate efforts to meet the requirements for Korea’s inclusion in the MSCI Developed Markets Index, which is being promoted as part of the Korea Value-Up initiative.
According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance on February 27, Hur Jang, the Second Vice Minister of the ministry, confirmed this policy at the inaugural meeting of the “Won Internationalization Task Force (TF)” held at the Seoul Bankers Club. The meeting was attended by officials from the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Financial Services Commission, the Bank of Korea, and the Financial Supervisory Service.
The relevant agencies shared the view that the value of the won is not sufficiently recognized in the international financial markets compared to the status of the Korean economy. They agreed to designate the internationalization of the won as a core initiative for the advancement of the Korean economy and foreign exchange and financial markets.
To this end, they plan to establish and announce a won internationalization roadmap within the first half of the year, reflecting various institutional improvement tasks.
At the meeting, opinions were presented that improving foreign investors’ accessibility to the won and expanding its stability and uses are important for the internationalization of the currency.
The Ministry of Economy and Finance also conveyed that there was a view that stablecoins, which are under global discussion for adoption, could be one way to expand the use of the won.
Meanwhile, the government and the authorities have decided to implement 22 out of 39 tasks for the inclusion in the MSCI Developed Markets Index within the first quarter.
Vice Minister Hur also reviewed the progress of the “Comprehensive Roadmap for Foreign Exchange and Capital Markets for MSCI Developed Markets Index Inclusion” and shared these plans at the meeting of the “Foreign Exchange Soundness Council and MSCI Developed Markets Index Task Force,” which was held at the same venue on the same day.
MSCI classifies the world’s major stock markets into four broad groups each year: developed markets, emerging markets, frontier markets, and standalone markets. The MSCI Developed Markets Index is a global equity index that brings together representative listed stocks from developed markets. Currently, Korea remains in the emerging markets category.
The government and authorities are working to have the Korean stock market listed as a candidate for developed market status in MSCI’s annual market classification in June 2026, with the goal of being included in the Developed Markets Index in June 2027, thereby advancing the capital market.
The relevant agencies have implemented 13 of the roadmap tasks announced last month and plan to execute 9 additional tasks by next month, with the aim of completing more than half of all tasks within the first quarter.
At the meeting, Vice Minister Hur stated that he will closely monitor the progress of each task to ensure the roadmap is executed without delay and will actively support the smooth introduction and establishment of the relevant systems.
At the meeting, discussions were also held on ways to resolve the inconvenience foreign investors experience during the remittance process when investing in Korean government bonds and bonds, as Korea is scheduled to be included in the World Government Bond Index (WGBI) starting in April.
The Bank of Korea and the Korea Securities Depository will extend the closing time for Delivery versus Payment (DvP) settlement from the current 5:20 p.m. by 2 hours and 30 minutes, so that won funds secured via Continuous Linked Settlement (CLS) can be used for securities settlement on the same day.
Additionally, they are working to extend the deadline for foreign investors to remit bond settlement funds to after 6:00 p.m., which is the CLS foreign exchange settlement closing time.
The revised system will be implemented from March 30, with a pilot run for two to three days about a week in advance.
The authorities will also move forward the cut-off time for settlement instructions on the government bond omnibus account to ensure smooth funding and settlement during the extended hours.
Starting March 16, the Korea Securities Depository will allow pre-checks of the scheduled settlement quantity in the government bond omnibus account, thereby improving the predictability of settlement demand for the correspondent banks of International Central Securities Depositories (ICSDs).
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