Stock market investigation underway as $100bn of shares issued in fat finger' error
Samsung Securities is set to be included in a probe into the "overall stock markets system" in South Korea after it accidentally issued more than $100bn worth of shares to its employees.
The stock-trading arm of the Samsung conglomerate and one of the country's largest brokerages causes chaos last week after an employee accidentially issued 2.8 billion shares to staff.
The employee was supoosed to pay dividends worth 2.8 billion won to staff as part of a stock ownership scheme, but instead entered the figures into the system as "shares" rather than "won" whihc is the South Korean currency.
The trade was blocked 37 minutes after it had been initiated.
The mishap, known as a "fat finger" error, prompted public outrage and calls for changes to be made in the inductry.
Shares in Samsung Securities, the nation’s fourth largest brokerage, have dropped 10% since Friday, with South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) saying that the incident had damaged the stability and credibility of the country’s financial system, as well as causing damages to investors.
The Wall Street Journal reports that FSS head Kim Ki-sik met with 16 brokerage chiefs in Seoul today to request stronger protections for investors.
