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South Korea's Financial Services Commission (FSC) has finalized record penalties totaling around 370 billion won ($276 million) against 13 financial institutions—seven banks and six securities firms—for mis-selling Hong Kong H-Index Equity-Linked Securities (ELS). The penalties, confirmed on Nov. 4, mark the first application of the Financial Consumer Protection Act to major financial firms and conclude a three-year process that began with a Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) probe in 2023. The final amount is roughly 1 trillion won less than the FSS's initial 1.4 trillion won proposal, and about 2,400 billion won less than the 600 billion won suggested in June, according to Maeil Business Newspaper. Yonhap reports the penalties were finalized by the regulator on Wednesday.