The Korea Securities Depository (KSD) has marked the second anniversary of its government bond integrated account system, which has established itself as a key infrastructure for foreign investors accessing the domestic bond market. Since its launch, the cumulative transaction amount has exceeded 1.74 quadrillion won, with the custody balance expanding to 27.4 trillion won.
On September 11, KSD announced that it held an industry meeting on August 28 to celebrate the second anniversary of the government bond integrated account system, sharing key operational achievements and future development directions over the past two years. The meeting was attended by over 60 officials from 27 institutions, including the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Bank of Korea, domestic trading firms, and custodians.
The government bond integrated account supports the custody and settlement of government bonds and monetary stabilization bonds for foreign investments in both domestic and international markets through a custody account established by the International Central Securities Depositories (ICSD) at KSD. Since the service began in June 2024, KSD has worked with the government, ICSD, and market participants to improve systems and regulations, including extending settlement deadlines and allowing domestic financial institutions to conduct offshore settlements through ICSD.
As a result of these improvements, the scale of usage for the government bond integrated account has steadily increased. As of the end of the first half of 2026, the custody balance reached 27.4 trillion won, and the cumulative transaction amount has surpassed 1.74 quadrillion won since the service's launch.
Notably, in March, ahead of the inclusion in the World Government Bond Index (WGBI), the settlement amount saw a significant increase. KSD explained that the continued high trading volume has positioned the integrated account as a crucial infrastructure supporting foreign investors' access to the domestic government bond market.
KSD plans to further enhance the government bond integrated account service. This year, it aims to establish a 'government bond integrated account information platform' to allow domestic and foreign investors to easily access information related to the integrated account and government bond investments. KSD also intends to support the government's initiative to allow offshore borrowing transactions among foreign investors.
KSD stated, 'We will continue to strive to enhance foreign investors' access to the Korean government bond market and expand the utilization of the government bond integrated account.'
* This article has been translated by AI.
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