Goldman Sachs fined 7.5 billion won for naked short selling

Korea’s financial regulator said Wednesday it decided to fine the Seoul branch of Goldman Sachs Group 7.5 billion won ($6.66 million) for carrying out naked short selling, which is illegal here.

It marked the largest fine against a financial institution for violating the rules that ban such short selling in Korea.

Market watchers had expected the Financial Services Commission (FSC) to slap a fine of up to 1 billion won against Goldman Sachs for naked short selling, which was carried out in late May.

A short selling transaction was made by Goldman Sachs in late May, but about 1.3 million shares worth some 6 billion won were not delivered for settlement until two days later, according to financial authorities.

Yonhap