The Bank of Korea and the Finance Ministry have announced 12 banks that will play the role of market makers in the won-yuan direct transaction market starting next year.

Among the 12, six are South Korean banks - Kookmin, Shinhan, Woori, KEB Hana, Korea Development Bank and Standard Chartered Bank Korea.

The other six are domestic branches of foreign banks including ING, HSBC, China Construction Bank and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.

The market maker system has been introduced to facilitate transactions in the won-yuan direct trading market which opened in December 2014.

The select banks will lead efforts in forming prices and supplying market liquidity.

A Bank of Korea official said the system is expected to play a key role in developing the won-yuan market and ways to better utilize the Chinese currency.