The KSDA, KOFIA's predecessor, successfully launched the KOSDAQ in 1996 and turned it into one of the most successful new markets in the world. KOSDAQ, the Korean version of NASDAQ, was successfully overseen by the association until it merged with the Korea Exchange (KRX) in 2005. Building on those successful experiences, KOFIA established the K-OTC and operates the OTC Bond Market.

The K-OTC is a platform for promoting the transparent and robust transactions of unlisted stocks. It has grown immensely since first originating in 2005 as a platform named FreeBoard, and today the K-OTC is split into two divisions: the K-OTC market, which facilitates transactions for unlisted corporations that submit annual reports or meet KOFIA’s disclosure requirements, and the K-OTCBB, a bulletin board opened in 2015 for all types of unlisted stocks regardless of a firm’s compliance with disclosure agreements. In 2017, KOFIA established K-OTC PRO, a membership-based trading platform to assist financial professionals and institutional investors in the convenient trading of unlisted stocks and corporate financing.

More information on the K-OTC can be found at www.k-otc.or.kr.

KOFIA plays an important role in ensuring the transparency and efficiency of the OTC fixed income market by collecting and disseminating essential trading data. The K-Bond is a support system for bond trading for institutional investors, established in 2010 as FreeBond. It was substantially upgraded in 2017 to respond to the growing number of market participants and rapidly changing environment. The K-Bond system enables financial investment companies and related entities to post quotes for trading or brokering and negotiate with counterparties in the OTC market. K-Bond is an encrypted, highly secure platform immune to external hacking risks. It has built a considerable reputation in the Korean market among trading parties as KOFIA regularly manages and verifies the qualifications of all K-Bond participants.

FreeSIS receives statistical data from the capital market and the financial investment industry and makes it all available in one place. The system provides access to industry statistics, including Equity, Fixed Income, and Derivatives market data. It also offers a variety of sophisticated options for viewing data, including daily and monthly gain/loss, the ability to search statistics for highest/lowest values, correlated data searching, multi-axis chart, and more, to promote more effective usage of statistical data.

Several enhanced analysis tools, such as Statistics at a Glance, Cross-statistics, and Event Statistics are available for analysis and other marketing needs. Members can use standard templates for data submission, and most data can also be submitted through automated submission processes rather than manually, thereby reducing time spent submitting information and improving efficiency.