Global brokerage says Samsung Securities partnership helping drive strong institutional, retail demand for Korean stocks David Friedland, managing director and head of Asia-Pacific at Interactive Brokers (Interactive Brokers) Foreign investors have traded more than 6 trillion won ($3.9 billion) through Korea's new omnibus account system, highlighting strong global demand for easier access to the local stock market.Among the early adopters is Interactive Brokers, the global electronic brokerage firm that launched Korea's first omnibus account service for foreign investors with Samsung Securities in May."There has been strong demand from Interactive Brokers clients globally for access to the Korean market for some time," said David Friedland, managing director and head of Asia-Pacific at Interactive Brokers.The omnibus account framework allows foreign brokerages to trade on behalf of multiple clients through a single account structure, eliminating one of the administrative hurdles that had long complicated foreign investment in Korean stocks."Demand exceeded our expectations from Day 1," Friedland said. "We've seen strong participation from both institutional and retail investors globally, and volumes have continued to build."Friedland credited Samsung Securities with helping bring the service to market."Samsung Securities was instrumental in advancing the regulatory pathway for omnibus accounts," he said. "Their participation in the sandbox program and willingness to be first to market played an important role in our decision."He added that the partnership has helped create a low-cost and seamless trading experience for global investors.One challenge that remains, according to Friedland, is currency conversion."Interactive Brokers focuses on providing real-time foreign exchange conversion with tight spreads," he said. "Combined with our competitive commissions, we believe this gives foreign investors an efficient and cost-effective way to access the Korean market."The brokerage expects participation to broaden further as regulators move to expand the scope of omnibus accounts to include exchange-traded funds and exchange-traded notes."We expect institutions, asset managers, advisers and sophisticated retail investors to have strong interest in gaining exposure to Korean markets through ETFs," Friedland said.Friedland said Korea continues to attract global investors because of its scale, liquidity and industrial competitiveness."Korea's equity market ranks among the world's largest and most liquid," he said. "It offers investors exposure to technology leadership, industrial innovation and several high-growth sectors."He highlighted semiconductors, batteries, biopharma and advanced manufacturing as industries drawing increasing attention from overseas investors."These sectors are becoming increasingly important for global investors seeking exposure to long-term structural growth trends," he said.Interactive Brokers has also expanded its presence in Korea beyond the omnibus account initiative. The firm previously invested 15 billion won in Next Securities, becoming the first overseas listed brokerage to make a strategic investment in a Korean brokerage. Friedland currently serves as a nonexecutive director of Next Securities.Looking ahead, Friedland said Korea is becoming an increasingly important part of the firm's broader Asia-Pacific strategy."Our goal is to make Korean markets more accessible to global investors," he said. "We believe there is significant room for participation to grow, and we see substantial opportunities to deepen cooperation with Korean market participants in the years ahead."