South Korea's FinTech regulatory sandbox will start on 1 April, bringing in flexible regulations with the goal of accelerating innovations in financial technology.

The Special Act on Financial Innovation Support was enacted in November last year and formally takes effect on 1 April, reported The Korea Herald.

In a regulatory sandbox, regulations could be temporarily suspended for new forms of financial services and business models while they are being tested in the market.

The sandbox status for a start-up is applicable for two years. During this two-year period, the FSC will support the development of regulations fitting for the particular service being tested out.

According to the FSC, the main categories of FinTech innovation are insurance, payments and money transfers, capital markets and robo-advisers, big data, credit score checking and blockchain technology.

The financial regulator has finalised a list of 25 panelists to take part in evaluating candidate companies to decide whether they are eligible for regulatory exemptions under the new law. The panel consists of the FSC chairman and officials from relevant government ministries, as well as 15 outside figures from the technology, financing and legal sectors.

The FSC has so far received 105 business proposals from 88 companies, including financial services companies and FinTech startups. Of these, 20 are scheduled to be considered as priority evaluation subjects in April. The remaining 85 proposals will be considered by the FSC in May and June. The regulatory body will also accept additional applications in June, and will complete the evaluation process for those applicants by year-end.