Having visited Korea in November of 2010 and started a discussion on FIX and Electronic trading, the team returned to the Westin Chosun in downtown Seoul to continue the conversation. With over 200 delegates in attendance it was clear that there is a growing appetite in Korea on the subject of FIX and what it would mean for the Korean market going forward.

As the competition amongst Exchanges in Asia continues to intensify, there was a clear exchange focus throughout the day, with the CME, Deutsche Borse and KOSCOM joining in. CME has partnered with the KRX to position the Korean market as a financial centre through their Globex Platform. Tae Seok Yoo, Director and Head of Strategic Sales Asia at CME Group, took to the stage and pointed out that Korea is the #1 Derivatives Market globally, however, in order to have an active derivatives market you need an active cash market and technology has a very important part to play. Investment is crucial and the adoption of FIX by the KRX and KOSCOM would be reflected in the landscape of the Asia market.

Local participation on the day was apparent, and David Lee, CEO of Dataroad, who has been involved with FIX from the start in Korea, shared some insightful facts and perspectives. Users of the FIX Protocol in Korea break down fairly evenly at approximately 50% in the Securities and Futures arenas, the clear break is across Asset Managers, where only 30% are trading via FIX. Lack of understanding of the FIX Protocol and the non-standard FIX implementations that exist in Korea need to be addressed, in order for the FIX Protocol to grow in Korea. A FIX user community and FIX Protocol Education need to be established in Korea, and it was clear that the direction should be given by the international FIX community and FPL members with the experience and expertise to point the Korean community in the right direction.