In December 2023 South Korea’s Financial Services Commission fined BNP Paribas and HSBC a combined 26.5 billion won for naked short selling, which means selling shares before borrowing them and is illegal in Korea.
HSBC’s Hong Kong office was fined about 7.5 billion won over naked short sales of nine stocks, including Hotel Shilla, worth about 16 billion won, between August and December 2021. The regulator said HSBC broke the law intentionally by continuing the practice for a long period, and it filed a criminal complaint.
Prosecutors indicted HSBC and three Hong Kong traders in March 2024 in what was described as Korea’s first criminal case of its kind. On 11 February 2025 the Seoul Southern District Court acquitted HSBC, finding no evidence that the employees knew they were breaking Korean rules. The acquittal was upheld on appeal, and in October 2026 by the Supreme Court of Korea. The sources we found do not say whether the acquittals affected the separate administrative fine.
HSBC’s position
HSBC said there was no intention to breach any Korean short-selling regulations.
The evidence
4 sources- Exhibit ABNP Paribas, HSBC fined $20.3 million for illegal short sellingThe Korea Times · 25 December 2023 · koreatimes.co.kr
- Exhibit BBNP Paribas, HSBC fined $20.4 million in Korea for naked short-sellingKED Global · 26 December 2023 · kedglobal.com
- Exhibit CSouth Korean court clears HSBC of violating short-selling rulesThe Star (Reuters) · 11 February 2025 · thestar.com.my
- Exhibit DSupreme Court upholds acquittal of HSBC in naked short-selling caseKorea JoongAng Daily · 8 October 2026 · koreajoongangdaily.com
Last checked 2 November 2026. Something wrong or out of date? Tell us and we’ll correct it.