South Korea’s financial watchdog plans a wider probe into short-selling trades by global investment banks in the $1.6 trillion equity market, taking a hard-line stance to root out illegal practices.

Banks that have conducted short-selling trades most frequently in Korea will be subject to the investigation that would start in November, the Financial Supervisory Service said in a Tuesday statement. The regulator said it will collaborate with watchdogs in Hong Kong and Singapore for its probe.

The FSS will “hold those responsible” and ensure “naked short selling practices don’t take hold,” the statement said. The agency will look into all short-selling transactions since May 2021 when the country partially lifted a ban that was imposed during the pandemic.

The move comes just weeks after the Korean regulators proposed an imposition of record fines on two global investment banks for their routine engagement in naked short-selling, considered illegal in the country. Public perception of such trading practices in the Asian nation remains deeply negative, with local retail traders staging protests against these activities from time to time.