South Korea seeks to improve foreign access to its markets

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea will unveil a wide range of measures in the coming months to open wider domestic financial markets, including plans to extend trading hours on the foreign exchange market, its finance minister said on Thursday.

As part of such efforts, the government will announce next month plans to extend trading hours on the onshore foreign exchange market and allow offshore market players to participate in the market, Minister Choo Kyung-ho told a news conference.

He said the government aims to put those measures in the foreign exchange market into force from the second half of next year, adding that the trading hours would be extended to 1700 GMT from the current 0630 GMT.

(Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Writing by Choonsik Yoo; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)