According to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), the number of visits to the English DART system by foreign investors has surged over the past three years, from 10,589 in 2022 to 39,079 in 2023, and reaching 78,870 last year. (Photo courtesy of Financial Supervisory Service)
SEOUL, Feb. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) announced on February 9 that it will enhance access to corporate disclosure information for foreign investors by expanding English-language content on its electronic disclosure system (DART) and launching a new open data platform on Sunday.
The updated English DART system now allows real-time access to key statutory disclosures in English, a move aimed at increasing transparency and investor confidence.
Since July 2024, when the FSS first improved its English disclosure services, investors could check when major filings such as annual reports were submitted. However, full reports remained in Korean, forcing non-Korean speakers to rely on artificial intelligence (AI) translation tools.
To address this issue, the FSS has now standardized key elements of financial disclosures, including report tables, structured data fields, and dropdown selections such as board member types, employment status, and stock classifications.
These elements will be accessible in English, making it easier for foreign investors to navigate corporate filings.
Additionally, search functionality has been improved. Previously, users could only search by company name, but now they can also search by report titles, mirroring the features available in the Korean DART system.
Alongside these enhancements, the FSS has introduced a new English-language open data platform, which provides structured data on 83 types of corporate disclosures.
The platform includes an Application Programming Interface (API) to allow real-time data downloads and a big data service that aggregates International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)-based annotations in eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) for all listed companies.
“This expansion is expected to drive greater adoption of the English DART system,” an FSS representative stated. “Unlike other non-English-speaking countries, South Korea offers these services free of charge, with a broader range of information available. We anticipate this will help mitigate the ‘Korea discount’ and enhance market attractiveness for global investors.”
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
