The Korea Securities Depository (KSD) is collaborating with global fintech firm Broadridge to enhance the convenience of voting rights for foreign investors at domestic corporate shareholder meetings. The partnership aims to establish a cross-border voting infrastructure that allows global institutional investors to quickly access information about Korean companies' shareholder meetings and exercise their voting rights.
KSD announced on September 29 that it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Broadridge Financial Solutions in New York on September 28 (local time). The signing ceremony was attended by KSD President Yoon Soo, Broadridge CEO Tim Gokey, and Kim Sang-ho, the Consul General of the Republic of Korea in New York.
This collaboration focuses on linking KSD's domestic capital market infrastructure with Broadridge's global institutional investor and securities custody network. The goal is to improve the efficiency of the process for foreign investors to access information about shareholder meetings and exercise their voting rights.
The two companies plan to integrate Broadridge's voting system, ProxyEdge, with KSD's electronic voting infrastructure, the Electronic Shareholder Meeting Platform (EVOP). Once the system is established, information about shareholder meetings will be transmitted in the order of Korean companies → EVOP → Broadridge → global institutional investors, while voting will be processed in reverse order through standardized electronic messages.
As a result, foreign investors will be able to quickly verify information about agenda items for shareholder meetings and proceed with voting. KSD expects that this unified approach will reduce omissions and errors that may occur during the information delivery and voting process.
Yoon Soo stated, "The signing of this MOU will enhance the global accessibility of the Korean capital market, promote the Korea Premium, and strengthen global investors' trust in the Korean capital market."
Additionally, the two companies plan to detail cross-border voting procedures and system integration plans within the year and establish a roadmap for the implementation of electronic voting for foreign shareholders. Next year, they will develop methods for technical system integration, detailed step-by-step processes, and processing standards.
KSD will invite Broadridge representatives to a ceremony in early November in Seoul to celebrate the launch of the electronic shareholder meeting platform and continue discussions.
During his visit to the U.S., Yoon also met with Frank LaSala, CEO of the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), to discuss the U.S. transition to a T+1 settlement cycle and the role of financial market infrastructure in the development of the tokenized securities market.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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