SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's financial watchdog said on Thursday that it recommended suspending some of Samsung (LON:0593xq) Securities' (KS:016360) operations for six months after a "fat finger" trading error by the brokerage prompted a public outcry.
One of South Korea's largest stock brokers, Samsung Securities in April accidentally issued 2.8 billion shares to employees - more than 30 times the number of its outstanding shares and theoretically worth some $100 billion (76.3 billion pounds) - some of which were quickly sold off by workers.
The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said in a text to reporters that it had called for partially suspending the broker's services for new investors in a recommendation to the Financial Services Commission (FSC), which makes the final decision.
After the reviewing the case, the country’s watchdog said it advised that the firm's chief executive should be suspended from his post.
The input error by Samsung Securities, an affiliate of the country's top conglomerate Samsung Group, prompted a prosecutors raid.
The company promised to rebuild its internal control process and set up a fund to support investors damaged by financial accidents.