The Financial Supervisory Service will improve the fee structure to require securities firms to provide detailed and accurate information on service usage fees when investors use 'stock information provision services.' The agency plans to improve regulations so that securities firms specifically compare and inform investors of the total usage fees before and after subscription.
On the 11th, the Financial Supervisory Service announced that it has released this improvement policy after reviewing the overall service operation status of the securities industry following the receipt of complaints related to stock information provision services.
According to the review by the Financial Supervisory Service, guidance regarding service usage fees after subscribing to stock information provision services was insufficient at securities firms. Additionally, subscription-inducing events that automatically converted free users to paid plans without explicit investor consent were conducted even after the expiration of the free service period.
Currently, a total of 12 securities firms provide stock information provision services for a fee. The number of service users totals 103,000, accounting for 0.23% of the total customer base. Securities firm revenue from fees related to these services in 2025 was 67.1 billion won. Securities firms were generating and providing investment-related information, such as supply and demand analysis by stock and stock recommendations, using their own AI (artificial intelligence) or other means, or delivering stock information content through partnership contracts with external companies.
The issue is that securities firms are charging fees for stock information provision service channels without investors properly recognizing it. Securities firms charge a fee of 0.05% to 0.25% per service or collect monthly flat-rate fees depending on the number of services requested by the investor.
The Financial Supervisory Service ordered improvements to this fee structure and guidance method. It pointed out that securities firms only inform customers of usage fees immediately after subscription and do not operate other customer guidance procedures, and that because service usage fees replace basic brokerage commissions, some investors are unaware that they are bearing the burden of these service fees.
Accordingly, securities firms will improve their practices to provide guidance on the fact of service subscription and accurate service usage fees, rather than trading commissions, divided into △before subscription, △regularly after subscription, and △irregularly after subscription. Before subscription, they will specifically compare and inform investors who intend to subscribe about the total usage fees before and after subscription using examples. After subscription, they will regularly notify investors of the fact of service usage and the fee rate borne by the investor through app push notifications, text messages, etc.
Securities firms providing flat-rate fee services will add an explanation of the service usage fee structure to the screen for checking trading fees on MTS (Mobile Trading System). If investors request a detailed breakdown of fees, they plan to provide the 'basic brokerage commission' and 'stock information provision service usage fee' borne by the investor separately.
Furthermore, securities firms will be prevented from converting free trial events to paid services without separate notification. In principle, service provision will end when a free trial event concludes, and conversion to a paid plan will occur only for investors who have explicitly consented.
The Financial Supervisory Service aims to complete these improvements by the first quarter of next year. It plans to prepare detailed implementation plans with industry bodies such as the Korea Financial Investment Association and monitor the compliance status of securities firms.
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