FSS to improve trust and innovation in financial market

The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) will reform its supervisory system to build consumer trust and foster innovation in the financial market, the agency's chief said Thursday.

Financial Supervisory Service chief Lee Bok-hyun speaks at the FSS Speaks 2023 in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Thursday. [FSS]

The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) will reform its supervisory system to build consumer trust and foster innovation in the financial market, the agency's chief said Thursday.

Included in this effort are recent moves to improve foreign access to Korea's financial market.

“Today, the financial industry is facing a complex challenge as rapid digitalization blurs the line between the financial and non-financial sectors,” said FSS chief Lee Bok-hyun at the FSS Speaks 2023 conference in Yeouido, western Seoul.

“There’s also a growing demand for greater access to the Korean financial market and a better regulatory system that is in line with global standards. And all these challenges require the FSS to take innovative approaches to reform our supervisory system.”

Themed "Trust and Innovation: A New Era of Finance," the event was attended by several ambassadors to Korea, including U.S. Ambassador Philip Goldberg, British Ambassador Colin Crooks and Netherlands Ambassador Joanne Doornewaard.

The financial authorities announced they will lift the mandatory registration policy for foreign investors and put in place an exclusive review process for registering foreign funds.

“The FSS will spare no effort to create an ecosystem where innovation can flourish on the back of a healthy financial market.”

Lee added the FSS will “take strong actions against crisis to restore trust and encourage innovation.”

The FSS will “take bold and active steps” to make finance the true backbone of the economy by proactively identifying and tackling potential risks in the real-estate project financing sector, and make sure that financial companies have enough loss-absorbing capacity.

More than half of some 14 trillion won ($10.68 billion) put into project financing by brokerages face maturity this year.

“Notwithstanding the difficulties we experienced last year, the Korean financial market is beginning to get back on track, proving its potential to overcome future crisis.” Lee added, “Korea’s financial industry is preparing to rise again by building up the social capital of ‘trust’ and supporting ‘innovation.’”

BY JIN MIN-JI [jin.minji@joongang.co.kr]