South Korea's financial regulator said Thursday it launched a squad with investigative power to effectively crack down on unfair practices in the financial market.

So far, financial authorities have audited financial firms and referred unfair trading cases to police or prosecutors because they have no investigative power.

The launch of a "special judicial police" at the Financial Supervisory Service came after the National Assembly passed a revised law in 2015 that gives investigative power to FSS officials.

"By using law enforcement measures, including seizures and searches, the special judicial police is expected to rapidly deal with unfair trading cases," the FSS said in a statement.

The 16-member squad consists of 15 FSS officials and one official from the Financial Services Commission.

The squad will concentrate on major cases linked to the Capital Market Act, such as stock manipulation, that could entail jail terms and other heavy punishments, the FSS said. (Yonhap)