Chairman Kim Byoung Hwan of the Financial Services Commission convened an extended senior officials’ meeting on December 16 to discuss current situation and response strategies. The following is a summary of Chairman Kim’s remarks.

A Summary of Chairman’s Remarks

In response to current political situation, the government’s top priority has been to leave no vacuum in the administration of state affairs. In this regard, as public servants overseeing the country’s financial policies, financial officials should continue to carry out their responsibilities with a sense of duty.

In order to boost confidence in the market and ensure external creditworthiness, it is necessary to have continuous efforts to ensure market stability and implement policies in a consistent way.

Although market conditions have recently become less volatile, it is still necessary to stay vigilant and maintain a 24-hour market monitoring system, while continuing to closely communicate with financial companies and investors at home and abroad. In particular, officials are asked to quickly review suggestions raised from the financial industry for ensuring market stability, such as the potential of postponing the implementation of stress capital buffers, and promptly announce what can be done as soon as possible starting from this week.

To help small merchants and self-employed business owners with their financial difficulties, it is necessary to introduce the measures intended to reduce the burden of card processing fees as they have been initially planned for this week. In addition, officials are asked to closely coordinate with the banking sector to make sure that we can announce within this month new support measures, such as a debt workout program for non-delinquent business owners and those undergoing business closure.

To ensure that businesses face no difficulties in raising funds, officials are asked to closely check the financing situation of businesses by their size and gather opinions from related ministries to promptly prepare plans for supplying policy funds for 2025.

Officials are also asked to make utmost efforts in the legislative front to ensure a prompt passage of the bills currently pending at the National Assembly regarding the Credit Business Act, the Electronic Financial Transactions Act, and the Depositor Protection Act.

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