Seoul s ranking as a favored global financial hub city has been on the rise since 2019, coming in at the 11th spot in this year s Global Financial Centers Index (GFCI). It is an impressive climb of 25 places in the past three years, since the city was ranked the 36th most favored in 2019. The ranking of the southeastern port city Busan, the second-largest city of Korea, also rose to the 29th spot, up 14 places in three years. “Korea is evaluated to have posted a significant development in its capital market system and financial infrastructure during the past few years. The country s world-class digital environment and information technology infrastructure are also part of the favorable assessments attributed to the increase of the financial hub ranking,” Lee Jun-kyo, director general of the International Financial Market Department of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), said during a recent one-on-one interview with The Korea Times. “Specifically, Seoul was particularly asse