(Bloomberg) -- South Korea has imposed combined fines of two billion won ($1.54 million) on three unnamed global hedge funds for violations of capital market law including illegal short selling and unfair trades.

The country’s Financial Services Commission and Financial Supervisory Service made the announcement in a joint statement.

The fines mark the authorities’ latest efforts to weed out illegal short-sellers from the local stock market. The decision also comes after regulators proposed such punishment for two unnamed global investment banks in October for “routinely and intentionally” violating the relevant rules.

The penalties also followed authorities’ announcement last month of a full ban on short selling until the end of June 2024, stating that it had discovered “massive” illegal naked short-selling by global investment banks in local stocks.

Public perception of such trading practices in Korea remains deeply negative. Local retail traders have staged protests against these activities from time to time and also made sporadic coordinated attempts to drive gains in stocks targeted by short sellers. 

--With assistance from Emily Yamamoto and Shinhye Kang.

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