Hana Bank has fully activated its foreign-exchange trading response system in line with the full launch of 24-hour trading in South Korea’s won-dollar FX market.

Hana Bank said on Sunday it has begun supporting trading on the first day of 24-hour operations in the won-dollar FX market, based on the country’s largest FX trading infrastructure.

From Monday, the domestic won-dollar FX market has shifted to a 24-hour operating system. With limits on trading hours removed, market participants such as global investors and import-export companies in and outside South Korea can now trade FX at Seoul’s real-time exchange rates without time constraints.

Deputy Prime Minister Koo Yun-cheol (구윤철), who also serves as finance minister, and Bank of Korea Deputy Governor Assistant Kwon Min-soo (권민수) visited Hana Bank’s dealing room, ‘Hana Infinity Seoul’, on Monday.

Koo and Kwon, along with Ham Young-joo (함영주), chairman of Hana Financial Group, and Lee Ho-sung (이호성), CEO of Hana Bank, checked conditions in real time during extended FX trading hours. They also linked by video with Hana Bank’s London branch, which is registered as an RFI, a licensed foreign financial institution located overseas, to gauge local sentiment.

They also connected by video with Samsung Electronics, a major exporting company, to hear feedback from market participants. They observed the process of Samsung Electronics’ won-dollar contract, which was concluded as the first trade after the 24-hour market opening.

Ham said, "As the domestic FX market opens 24 hours, I hope global investors will invest more actively in won-denominated assets such as South Korean government bonds and stocks." He added, "We will fulfill a key role in advancing the domestic FX market."