An auspicious debut

Asia Risk's first ever Risk Korea conference on June 26 attracted a turnout of more than 100 delegates, which was a testament to the strong line-up of speakers and the topical issues they covered. Joe Marsh reports from Seoul

With a major capital markets consolidation law due to come into force in February - dubbed the equivalent of the US' Glass-Steagall Act - and rising foreign interest in gaining a foothold in the domestic derivatives market, the financial sector in South Korea is on the verge of a major shake-up.

Moreover, optimism is relatively high in a country whose banks appear even more insulated from the subprime mortgage crisis than those elsewhere in Asia, and where the benchmark Kospi stock index is