South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service plans to sharply shorten the accounting review and inspection cycle for listed companies, which currently averages about 20 years. The regulator says the long interval—well beyond the typical three-to-five-year management tenure—creates an oversight gap that can delay the detection of accounting fraud. FSS Governor Lee Chan-jin outlined the plan at a meeting with accounting-firm chief executives and experts at the regulator’s headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 10th. The FSS aims to establish a regular review system comparable with those in major economies: the United States reviews all listed companies every three years, while the United Kingdom reviews its 350 largest companies every five years. To support the change, it plans to expand its organization and staffing and strengthen inspection tools. The regulator will also use accounting-firm risk levels to select targets for regular inspections, conduct additional reviews where audit hours fall sharply without reasonable justification, and monitor audit-quality oversight committees at large firms. The initiative responds to concerns about declining audit quality amid intense competition for engagements. Average audit fees for listed companies fell 4.5% to 252 million won last year from 264 million won in 2022, while average audit hours declined 4.5% to 2,348 from 2,458. The FSS plans zero tolerance for intentional accounting fraud, tighter supervision of firms with repeated audit failures and regulatory changes that would make accounting firms more broadly accountable for corporate-level management and oversight of internal controls. Meeting participants, including Korean Institute of Certified Public Accountants Chairman Choi Woon-yul, the chief executives of eight accounting firms and accounting experts, urged further improvements to review procedures and support for a digital audit environment.