Korea Capital Market Institute

Following the government initiative to fashion Seoul into a financial hub, this research compares and examines the potential Seoul has to become an international financial center. Selecting 13 of the most competitive cities in the region, this analysis examines the capital market, policies and regulations, labor market and miscellaneous relevant characteristics to determine Seoul’s strengths, weaknesses and placement among the other cities. Seoul’s competitive potential as an international finance center, in comparison with the most important cities of this region, is mid-level. The high-level group comprises Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo and Hong Kong. In the mid-level group, Seoul and Taipei have relatively higher capital market sizes than the low-level group and Kuala Lumpur made up for its smaller capital market size in the labor market.