South Korea’s top financial regulator, the Financial Service Commission (FSC), announced that banks in the country will not be allowed to close their branches without preparing alternative measures to provide customers with the same level of service. The ordinance will take effect starting next month. The FSC also requested banks to consider customers’ feedback about branch closures before deciding to shut down their branches.

According to the FSC, there were 5,800 banks throughout the ROK by the end of 2022, which is 24% fewer than in 2012. The FSC has also said that bank branch closures accelerated during the pandemic as fewer people sought in-person banking services.