The Securities and Futures Commission under the Financial Services Commission (FSC) has imposed a combined 3.97 billion won ($2.69 million) in fines on six domestic and foreign asset managers and securities firms for engaging in naked short selling, market watchers said Monday. Naked short selling refers to the practice of short-selling shares without first borrowing them from another party. The large scale of fines, the first since the full resumption of short selling last March, is indicative of a tougher regulatory stance in the coming months, reflecting a policy shift toward “zero tolerance” enforcement. Previous similar violations have been sanctioned, but penalties were negligible in size and impact. The authorities’ stringent measures are meant to illustrate that Korea’s short selling market is not only open but strictly managed, an approach intended to bolster investor confidence while strengthening the market’s credibility on the global stage. According to government sources, Shinhan Asset Management was fined 370.6 million won after authorities found it had placed sel