Korea's financial regulator loosens network separation so firms can use AI
The Financial Services Commission will exempt firms with strong security from the rule that keeps their internal systems off the internet, and it is reviewing full repeal.
The Financial Services Commission (금융위원회) published a 32-page release on 25 May 2026 under a title that translates as “The financial sector’s AI transition begins in earnest: we will relax network separation rules so that innovation is wider and security is stronger.” The release is in Korean, and the translation is ours.
Network separation (망분리) requires a financial firm to keep its internal systems apart from the internet. The release follows a meeting on 22 May, chaired by the commission’s vice chairman, on security threats from high-performance AI.
| Measure | Detail in the release |
|---|---|
| Exemption from network separation | For firms with strong security capability and the skills to use AI |
| How a firm qualifies | Evaluation by experts, then government approval |
| How long it lasts | The exemption is temporary. Full repeal of the rule is under review |
| New institute | An AI Financial Security Research Institute (금융AI보안연구소) inside the Financial Security Institute (금융보안원), for vulnerability detection, response and training |
| Guideline | A security guideline for managing financial firms’ IT assets, planned for June 2026 |
The summary page gives no count of eligible firms and no length for the exemption. Those details are in the attachments, which the archive lists by title.