With the completion of the Seoul International Financial Office, Seoul invites financial institutions to move into SFIO

SEOUL,South Korea,Aug. 5,2020 -- The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it will open the "Seoul International Financial Office (SIFO)" in Yeouido*,Korea's financial mecca,in this coming October.

Yeouido where a Seoul International Financial Office(SIFO) is located,is a financial mecca of Korea. Over 640 financial companies and institutions are based in Yeouido.

* Yeouido was designated as the nation's financial hub in 2009 according to the Act on the Establishment and Development of Financial Centers.

To be located on the 16th floor of the Seoul International Financial Center ("One IFC"),SIFO is a dedicated space for domestic and international financial institutions,featuring offices of various sizes that can accommodate from one to 30 people.

With the completion ofSIFO,the Seoul Metropolitan Government will selectten financial institutions to move into SIFO. Applications will be accepted for two days from August 20 to 21. Theselected institutions will be allowed to move into SIFO from the end of October.

Theinterested companies may get more detailed information and the documents to be submitted from the Seoul Metropolitan Government's website (www.seoul.go.kr). Applications should be submitted to the Economic Policy Division at the Seoul Metropolitan Government. Those unable to visit the City Hall may apply online (jmk0222@seoul.go.kr). The final selection will be made through written evaluation and face-to-face interviews around the end of August.

The eligible companies for the application are the head offices,branches,and regional headquarters of domestic and foreign financial firms,and finance-related international organizations or non-profit corporations or groups that have a plan to newly locate or re-locate their office in Yeouido. Financial institutions that plan to run temporary offices to check the area before they decide to move in Yeouido are eligible for the application.

The final selection will be conducted based on comprehensive evaluations of the applicants' organizational capacity,human resources' expertise,and contribution to the area's financial industry,such as attracting investment and creating jobs.

Each selected firm is allowed to use an independent office space within SIFO for two years. After the two years,they can stay there for up to three years (five years in total) through performance evaluation. They also can use a lounge for networking,international conference rooms,seminar rooms,and meeting rooms free of charge.

Various support programs will be offered including legal and investment consulting,educational seminars,networking with financial firms in Yeouido,and provision of foreign executives and employees.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to foster SIFO as a hub for the domestic and international financial industry while making it the key to enhancing the financial competitiveness of Yeouido by linking it with "Seoul FinTech Lab*," and "Financial Graduate School," a digital financial education hub.

*640 financial institutions and Seoul FinTech Lab lncluding 70 FinTech companies are based in Yeouido

Networking events and IRs will be held throughout the year to link financial institutions inSIFO with Seoul FinTech Lab. The Financial Graduate Schoolwill be opened on the 17th floor of the same building in September and will provide opportunities for financial institutions to participate in the digital financial curriculum. Employees of the financial firms atSIFO can observe the digital financial expert courses operated by KAIST through a certain screening process.

Mr. Kim Eui-seung,Deputy Mayor for Economic Policy,said,"Seoul will attract competitive domestic and international financial institutions in Yeouido to make Seoul an international financial hub. We will provide intensive support so that SIFO can become a driving force to do so and enhance synergy effects through the cooperation of domestic and foreign financial companies."

For more information,please visit our website at http://english.seoul.go.kr/seoul-accepts-applications-for-moving-into-seoul-international-finance-office/

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