Korea will establish an offshore won settlement system and ease foreign-exchange regulations under a road map to internationalize the Korean won, officials said Sunday, as Seoul seeks to make the currency more widely usable overseas. The measures are designed to make it easier for foreign investors to buy, hold and use the won regardless of time or location, encouraging greater investment in won-denominated assets. Over the longer term, the government aims to boost potential growth by driving wider international use of the local currency. The road map, jointly announced by the Ministry of Finance and Economy, the Bank of Korea (BOK), the Financial Services Commission and the Korea Securities Depository, seeks to turn the won from a restricted currency into a freely convertible currency, marking the biggest overhaul of the foreign-exchange regulatory framework established after the 1997 Asian financial crisis. A key part of the plan is launching an offshore won settlement system that will allow foreign investors to hold and settle won through designated overseas financial institutions wi