Regulator fines Mirae Asset Daewoo 2 billion won

The Financial Services Commission fined Mirae Asset Daewoo 2 billion won ($1.7 million) for not issuing registration statements on its asset-backed securities product Wednesday.

The fine is one of the highest penalties levied on a financial company by the regulatory agency.

Mirae Asset Daewoo sold asset-backed securities worth 250 billion won to some 500 investors. The lowest investment was 200 million won. In principle, a company should file a registration statement before it proceeds with a public offering, while smaller offerings like private equity funds are exempt from the procedure.

Mirae explained that the company sold the products as private equity funds by forming 15 different special-purpose companies, as they each attracted fewer than 49 investors, which is the threshold set by the Financial Services Commission. But the agency maintained that since the total of combined investors was over 500, the securities in question should be categorized as a public offering.