Press Releases - Financial Services Commission

Press Releases

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Oct 27, 2021

FSC Orders Citibank Korea to Take Measures to Minimize Damage to Consumers

The FSC decided to order Citibank Korea to take specific measures to ensure consumer protection and maintain order as the bank announced its plan to gradually phase out retail banking services. Under the Financial Consumer Protection Act, the FSC has the authority to order financial institutions such as banks to take measures when it is considered as necessary to protect consumer rights and maintian sound market order. The FSC decided to issue an official order to Citibank Korea as it is deemed to be highly likely that the banks move to close out its retail banking services will generate inconvenience and damage to consumers. The following are some of the key details of the order. a) Citibank Korea should draw up a detailed plan to minimize inconvenience to consumers, protect consumer rights and maintain sound market order and implement the plan faithfully in the process of its retail banking closure in Korea. b) Before the closure process begins, Citibank Korea should submit a specific plan to the Financial Supervisory Service, detailing basic principles on user protection, measures for user protection by product and service type, operational plan for sales channels, measures to ensure consumer data privacy and other measures regarding organizational, human resources, internal control, etc. The FSS will review the submitted plan and report to the FSC. The FSS will closely monitor Citibanks implementation status and report to the FSC if deemed necessary. *Please refer to the attached PDF for details.
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Oct 27, 2021

Korea and UAE Sign MOU to Strengthen Bilateral Cooperation on AML and CTF

The Korea Financial Intelligence Unit signed a memorandum of understanding with the Financial Intelligence Unit of the United Arab Emirates on October 26 to strengthen bilateral cooperation on exchange of information regarding two countries anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing efforts. The MoU is based on a model MoU drafted and endorsed by the Egmont Group, which was founded in 1995 to promote closer cooperation between financial intelligence units around the world. The KoFIU has been working closely with the Egmont Group member countries for exchange of information on AML and CTF efforts. As a financial hub in the Middle East, the UAE hosts some 170 Korean enterprises with large volumes of bilateral trade. With the signing of an MoU, it is expected that bilateral cooperation on AML and exchange of information on suspicious transaction activities will be boosted between Korea and the UAE. The KoFIU has thus far signed such agreements with its counterparts in 71 countries and will continue to work for strengthening international cooperation in order to more effectively respond to cross-border money laundering activities. *Please refer to the attached PDF for details.
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Oct 26, 2021

Government Unveils Additional Measures for Household Debt Management

The government announced additional measures to strengthen household debt management at the 47th Meeting of Central Economic Response Headquarters held on October 26. The measures are aimed at preemptively managing household debt-related risks and resolving financial imbalances while ensuring the availability of loans to individuals in actual need. Some of the key measures include improving the effectiveness of DSR rules applied on individual borrowers, strengthening targeted management in the nonbank sector and promoting more installment payments on both housing and personal credit-based loans. These are supplementary measures to the initial household debt management plan announced on April 29, 2021. Background (Recent Trends) The household debt growth has shown a downward trend in recent years after reaching an 11.6 percent growth in 2016. However, it has spiked up again in 2020 due to the pandemic-related policies and rise in asset prices.For this year, the government had previously set the goal of containing the growth of household debt to five to six percent as it sought to control debt levels while continuing to make financing available for first time homebuyers, renters, etc. Along this line, the government introduced the measures to curb credit-based loansand expand the application of the debt service ratio (DSR) rules on individual borrowers in April this year. At the same time, the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio has been eased with the support for rent deposit (including jeonse) made available for young adults, newly married couples, etc. However, household debt levels spiked in the first half of this year due to instability in the housing market and resurgence in the coronavirus infection cases. The growth in credit loans and personal mortgages that led the surge in total debt levels at the end of 2020 stabilized. But loans for rent deposits, collective lending and government-backed housing mortgages all continued to rise with a spillover effect into the nonba
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Oct 26, 2021

New Credit Finance Microloan Product to Help Expand Microfinance Opportunities

The FSC announced that a new credit finance sector-based microloan product (Sunshine Loan Card) will be launched on October 27 as part of the authorities plan for improving and making microfinance services more diverse. Individuals who have completed the required educational program on personal credit management, have annual disposable income of at least KRW6 million, are in the bottom 10 percentile group in terms of personal credit ratings and have no credit cards of their own at the time of applying for a guarantee at the Korea Inclusive Finance Agency (KINFA) are eligible to apply for a Sunshine Loan Card with the maximum support of KRW2 million. After receiving an approval for credit guarantee from the KINFA, applicants may choose one of the seven credit card companies that have partnerships with the microfinance program for their credit card issuance. The authorities expect that the new credit card-based microloan service will help increase convenience and expand opportunities for lower income earners and those with low credit standings who have been denied access to traditional credit finance channels before. * Please refer to the attached PDF for details.
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Oct 19, 2021

Revised Rules on PEFs and Improvements to Investor Protection Take Effect from October 21

The government approved the revision bill on the Enforcement Decree of the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act and its subordinate rules at a cabinet meeting held on October 19. With the revised FSCMAscheduled to go into effect on October 21, the changes in its subordinate statute and regulations will help improve investor trust in the private equity fund market and provide better protections for retail investors. The changed rules will go into effect from October 21, 2021. Key Details I. Investor Protections Under the new PEF classification scheme, qualified retail investors (those investing KRW300 million or more) can invest in general PEFs only, with stronger investor protections provided. (Improving sales procedure) Fund sellers are required to issue a summary prospectus to investors when selling a PEF. As such, the revised rules specify the methods for verifying summary prospectus from an investors standpoint and indicate a list of required information which needs to be contained in a summary prospectus. (Monitoring fund sellers and trustees) Fund sellers are required to monitor whether the PEF they sold to qualified retail investors are being managed by fund management firms according to their prospectus requirements. Fund trust agencies are required to monitor the consistency of the funds asset statements with those of management firms. II. Rules on PEF Management (Restriction on lending) The revised rules prohibit PEFs from issuing personal loans to private lenders, P2P lending firms, etc. Only PEFs with institutional investors that have risk management capabilities can offer loans, with fund management firms required to have internal control measures. III. Institution-only PEFs (PEF Asset Management) The rules governing the management of institution-only PEFs will be identical to the general PEF management rules, simplifying and unifying the rules on PEFs. Unlike the management participation type PEFs under the previous PEF classification
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Oct 14, 2021

Authorities and Lenders Discuss Ways to Allay Burden on Renters and Prospective Homeowners

The FSC and the FSS held a meeting with major banks on October 14 to discuss ways to alleviate financing burden on jeonserenters and prospective homeowners. For jeonse renters, the authorities decided that new household loans issued to pay for jeonse deposits in the fourth quarter of 2021 will not be counted toward the governments total volume of household debt management target. In the process of credit background check, lenders will closely inspect to prevent issuing new jeonse loans in non-urgent and unnecessary cases. For prospective homeowners who are scheduled to move into new homes in the fourth quarter of 2021 and are thus required to meet balance payments, the authorities along with the lenders will work to prevent cases where prospective homeowners are unable to move into new homes due to restrictive measures and a suspension in new mortgage loans. The authorities and banks plan to set up a taskforce to closely share relevant information and review situations regularly as these measures go into implementation starting next week. The authorities and lenders agreed to continue to work for household debt management. * Please refer to the attached PDF for details.
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Oct 14, 2021

Financial Development Review Committee Holds 2nd Special Committee Meeting on Young Adults

The FSC held the financial development review committees 2nd special committee meeting on young adults on October 14, discussing the need to have financial policies tailored to the needs of young adults. At the beginning of the meeting, FSC Chairman Koh Seungbeom spoke about the newly created Youth Policy Division within the FSC, which is charged with developing youth-specific financial policy measures. Chairman Koh touched upon the negative effects of digital transformation in the society as well as diminishing employment and educational opportunities and a widening income and wealth gap that occurred during the process of responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, especially on young adults. As such, Chairman Koh said that the FSC will work to provide targeted support for young adults through preferential savings, investment schemes and so on in order to help young adults build potential for their future. More specifically, Chairman Koh pledged that the financial authorities will support young adults by (a) working to develop diverse financial products intended to help them accumulate financial assets, (b) promoting job creation and employment opportunities in financial sectors and (c) maintaining close communication and encouraging active participation from young adults. The authorities plan to take into account comments from diverse participants in todays meeting when developing youth-specific financial policy measures in the future while continuing with discussions on important issues. * Please refer to the attached PDF for details.
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Oct 13, 2021

Household Loans, September 2021

The outstanding balance of loans to households rose KRW7.8 trillion at the end of September 2021 (up 9.2% year-on-year) in all financial sectors.The balance of household loans increased KRW6.5 trillion in the banking sector and KRW1.4 trillion in the non-banking sector. All financial sectors (y-o-y): +10.0% (Jul 2021) +9.5% (Aug 2021) +9.2% (Sep 2021) By type, mortgage loans increased KRW6.7 trillion in September, growing at a slower rate compared with the previous month (up KRW7.1 trillion y-o-y). Other types of loans saw a rise of KRW1.1 trillion, falling from KRW1.5 trillion a month ago, due to a drop in both personal credit-based and credit card loans. The balance of household loans grew at a slower rate in September, although the volume of growth remains high compared to pre-pandemic levels. The financial authorities are currently working on additional measures intended to curb the household debt growth. The authorities will ensure that the measures address the needs of lower income groups. * Please refer to the attached PDF for details.
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Oct 12, 2021

Government Proposes Revisions to Improve Asset-backed Securities Market

The government approved a revision proposal to the Asset-backed Securitization Act at a cabinet meeting held on October 12, with aims to improve efficiency in business fundraising activities through asset-backed securities (ABS) and close regulatory loopholes to strengthen risk management. The revision proposal is a follow-up measure to the governments plan to improve the ABS market announced in May last year.The bill is expected to be submitted to the National Assembly in October for further legislative actions. Key Details I. Facilitate business fundraising through asset-backed securities (Expanding scope of ABS issuing businesses) The revision proposal expands the scope of businesses allowed to raise funds through ABS by abolishing the credit rating requirement which currently permits ABS issuance to only those with BB ratings or above. To ensure investor protections, only businesses subject to external audit and meet certain conditions will be allowed to issue ABS. (Diversifying ABS type and structure) The revision proposal establishes a legal ground to diversify the type and structure of ABS by (a) allowing businesses to use future assets and intellectual property rights in raising funds and (b) allowing multi-seller programs in which a special purpose company issues securitized assets with assets transferred from multiple businesses. (Streamlining ABS registration process) The revision proposal reduces the burden of registration requirements in the cases where there exist no issues over investor protections or profit rights. II. Strengthen risk management (ABS disclosure requirement) The revision proposal introduces a disclosure requirement on all asset-backed securitiesboth registered and unregisteredwith a fine for violating the disclosure rule. An integrated information platform on the ABS market has been set up at Korea Securities Depository and in operation since January this year. (Risk retention rule) The revision proposal requires asset holders (origin
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Oct 07, 2021

Financial Authorities to Closely Monitor Market Situations and Manage Risk Factors

FSC Chairman Koh Seungbeom held a meeting on October 7 to review market situations and risk factors surrounding the recent volatility in financial markets. At the meeting, Chairman Koh said that the recent volatility in stock markets is largely attributable to external factors, such as global inflation, the tapering moves and debt ceiling negotiations in the U.S. and Chinas power shortages and Evergrande debt crisis. As market volatility is expected to continue for some time, Chairman Koh urged the authorities to stay vigilant and closely monitor market situations. Chairman Koh added that excessive anxiety is not desirable given strong exports and macroeconomic conditions. While maintaining close cooperation with relevant institutions, the authorities will closely monitor investment activities and market situations to appropriately respond to rising volatility and help prevent the spread of market anxiety. * Please refer to the attached PDF for details.
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Sep 30, 2021

FSC Chairman Discusses Fostering Stability and Development in Capital Markets

FSC Chairman Koh Seungbeom met with relevant officials in the capital marketson September 30 and held talks on ways to promote stability and development in the capital markets. The following is a summary of Chairman Kohs remarks. Recent Trends in Capital Markets (Quantitative Expansion) The capital markets in Korea have recently seen an unprecedented level of expansion with the market capitalization of listed stocks reaching more than KRW2.65 quadrillion as of September 29, 2021, which is about 1.3 times greater than the level of GDP (KRW1.93 quadrillion at the end of 2020). The number of retail investors also increased significantly to almost ten million individuals. As a result, many securities firms and asset management companies saw their largest gain in net profits last year. (Major Changes) Despite this quantitative expansion in market size, there are a few notable changes to consider. There have been cases where domestic firms chose an overseas market for their company listing and domestic investors are increasingly investing in foreign stocks. There is also a growing tendency of investors bypassing intermediaries and directly engaging in investment. The emergence of new asset class, such as virtual assets and non-fungible tokens, is often considered to be in competition with the more traditional financial investment instruments. Policy Issues Amid rapid growth and structural changes taking place in the capital markets, it is necessary to focus more on the fundamentals. The capital markets should first and foremost help individuals with asset formation by providing steady returns over the long run. In particular, the capital markets should help divert much concentrated assets in the real estate market and introduce diverse investment instruments and services to help absorb shocks originating from demographic changes and other socioeconomic transitions taking place. Second, the capital markets cannot turn profits without the growth of companies. In order to in
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Sep 29, 2021

FSC Decides to Extend the Period on Some of Temporary Deregulatory Measures

The FSC decided to extend the period of some of the pandemic response deregulatory measures introduced in April last year at its regular meeting held on September 29. Background The FSC and the FSS introduced the plans for temporary easing of financial regulations in response to COVID-19 in April last year.The authorities have been reviewing the progress and situations regarding the 25 deregulatory measures put in place to deal with the COVID-19 crisis. Among them, the authorities decided to temporarily extend the period of some of the deregulatory measures related to financial institutions liquidity ratio and loan-to-deposit ratio until the end of March 2022. With regard to the eased rule on the credit extension between financial holding companies own subsidiaries, the authorities decided to let it expire as it is no longer deemed as necessary. The pandemic-related deregulatory measures have helped financial institutions to provide adequate levels of loan support to SMEs and small merchants struggling through the pandemic in the form of maturity extensions and payment deferrals. The measures also helpedeither directly or indirectlyto expand capital flows to support the real economy. Key Details With the availability of loan maturity extensions and payment deferments for small merchants and SMEs extended for six more months until March 2022,the availability of relevant deregulatory measures will also be extended accordingly as shown below. a) (Banks) Temporary lowering of total LCR foreign currency LCR: Initially scheduled to expire at the end of September 2021 Extended until the end of March 2022 b) (Banks) Temporary lifting of LTD ratio: Initially scheduled to expire at the end of December 2021 Extended until the end of March 2022. c) (Banks) Lowering risk weights on business loans to self-employed small merchants: Initially scheduled to expire at the end of September 2021 Extended until the end of December 2021 d) (Credit finance savings banks) Temporary lifting
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Sep 28, 2021

Conflict of Interest Rule Introduced for VASPs to Improve Transparency in Transactions

The government introduced the conflict of interest rule for virtual asset service providers through a revision to the Enforcement Decree of the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information, which was approved at a cabinet meeting held on September 28. The conflict of interest rule prohibits VASPs from trading virtual assets issued by their own platforms or by other specially related entitiesand restricts operators and staff members of VASPs from trading virtual assets via their own platforms. The measures are intended to prevent damages to users and improve transparency in virtual asset transactions. VASPs are required to set up internal standards regarding the conflict of interest rule within one month. A failure to implement the rule may be subject to suspension of business or up to KRW100 million in fine. The revised Enforcement Decree will take effect immediately after promulgation. *Please refer to the attached PDF for details.
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Sep 28, 2021

FSC Chairman Discusses Key Policy Issues with Heads of State-backed Financial Institutions

FSC Chairman Koh Seungbeom met with the heads of eight state-backed financial institutions on September 28 and held talks on key policy issues and the role of state-backed financial institutions. The following is a summary of Chairman Kohs remarks. (COVID-19 Crisis Management, Orderly Exit Future Preparation) Chairman Koh first talked about the need to consider an orderly normalization process and preparation for the future along with the COVID-19 crisis management measures. In this regard, Chairman Koh put forward four key policy tasks(a) provision of adequate support for vulnerable sectors, (b) management of financial imbalances aimed at maintaining stability, (c) restoration of market functions in a gradual manner and (d) enhancing the role of finance to support new growth industries. With regard to the role of state-backed financial institutions, Chairman Koh urged them to provide sufficient buffer to vulnerable sectors and work to make a transition from the current paradigm of emergency support to recovery support in the area of industrial financing. As these tasks require an accurate understanding about the situation, clear analysis about policy effects as well as future forecasts, Chairman Koh pledged to closely communicate with experts from diverse areas. (Loan Support Extension) As a first step toward an orderly exit, Chairman Koh discussed the provision of loan maturity extensions and principal and interest payment deferments, which was recently made available for six more months until March next year.In this regard, participants agreed to work on a speedy provision of support through acquisition of nonperforming loans, debt adjustment programs, as well as through liquidity provision worth KRW4 trillion. To provide a strong backstop to lower income groups, Chairman Koh urged them to continue to expand the availability of microfinance support. (Strengthening Household Debt Management Measures) In order to maintain stability in the financial system, Chairman
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Sep 27, 2021

FSC Chairman Holds Talks with Market Experts and Discusses Risk Factors in Markets

FSC Chairman Koh Seungbeom held a meeting with economic and financial market experts on September 27 and discussed diverse risk factors in both domestic and overseas financial markets. The following is a summary of Chairman Kohs remarks. In order to deal with the issue of excessive household debt or risks emanating from global financial imbalances, it is necessary to (a) clearly understand the structure of the problem, (b) preemptively remove the trigger factor safely and completely and (c) raise alertness to prepare for risks. The first step requires an understanding of risk factors in the current economic and financial markets as well as their causal linkages to other factors and areas. The excessive liquidity and low interest rate conditions amid the pandemic have led to increased risks of excessive indebtedness and asset price hikes. To deal with these conditions, the Fed has announced a tapering move beginning in this year and Chinas government has rolled out strict regulations to control the real estate market. As such, market volatility has been expanding in global financial and asset markets. There are also possibilities of a prolonging inflation as the pace of global economic recovery has been slowing and the gap between the developed and developing countries widens due to uneven supply of vaccines and rises in raw material prices. Against this backdrop, it is necessary to prepare for abrupt changes in external environment while working to preemptively remove risk factors, such as excessive indebtedness and housing market overheating. In this process, provision of support for vulnerable groups should also be maintained. With regard to the second step of preemptively removing the trigger factor safely and completely, the government decided to extend the availability of pandemic-related loan support for small merchants and SMEs for six more months until March next year and to expand microfinance support for vulnerable groups.The authorities are also continuin
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Sep 26, 2021

42 VASPs File Registration Reports with KoFIU

FSC Chairman Koh Seungbeom held a meeting with relevant officials on September 26 to go over the registration status of virtual asset service providers (VASPs) and discuss measures to prevent damages to consumers. As the September 24 deadline has ended, 42 VASPs have filed registration reports with the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (KoFIU). Key Details (Registration Status of VASPs) As of September 24, 42 VASPs have completed filing their registration reports, which include 29 virtual asset trading platforms (or crypto exchanges) and 13 other virtual asset-related services (e.g. virtual asset wallet or depository service providers). The KoFIU and the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) will evaluate registration reports and decide whether to accept their registrations within three months. (Termination of Business Operation) Among 66 virtual asset trading platforms which have been in business operations, 29 entities with Information Security Management System (ISMS) certifications, which account for about 99.9 percent of the market (as of September 21, 2021), have completed submitting their registration reports. Out of the 29 trading platforms, 25 entities that have not secured partnership with banks for real-name verified accounts were found to have terminated the KRW-based trading services as they filed for registration to provide trading services in virtual assets only. Considering that those that have failed to submit their registration reports by the deadline represent less than 0.1 percent of the market, the possibility of user damages has been significantly reduced. For the remaining 37 entities (in group C and D) that have not been able to obtain ISMS certifications and thus are subject to business closure, 36 of them except for one new entrant that has yet to start operatinghave terminated their business operations. As of September 21, the total amount of deposits (in KRW) held by these unqualified entities (in group C) stood at about KRW4.18 billion, do
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Sep 23, 2021

FSC to Continue to Work on Improving Retail Investors' Access to Stock Short Selling

The FSC announced the latest trends in retail investors short selling activities as stock short selling became available for KOSPI 200 and KOSDAQ 150 from May 3 this year. Key Details (Short Selling Activities) Between May 3 and September 17 this year, the daily average short selling volume dropped about 12 percent compared to the period between January 2 and March 13 in the previous year.Given a large increase in the overall volume of stock market transactions, the proportion of short selling in relation to the total trading amount remains about a half the previous level. The short selling transaction volume by foreigners and retail investors increased while that by institutional investors declined. The daily average short selling volume by foreigners rose about 21 percent compared to the previous year, but the proportion of short selling vis--vis the total trading amount by foreigners dropped.The daily average short selling volume by institutional investors fell by more than a half from KRW286.0 billion to KRW126.4 billion as the revised rules on market makers began to take effect from April this year. (Trends of Retail Investors) Since the partial resumption of short selling began in May, the daily average short selling volume by retail investors stands at about KRW11.0 billion, which is an increase of about 41 percent compared to the previous year. The weight of retail investors in the total short selling volume rose to 1.9 percent in 2021 from 1.2 percent in the previous year. The top ten stock items that were mostly targeted by retail investors for short selling appeared to be similar to those targeted by overall short sellers including foreigners and institutions. The authorities found no meaningful correlation between the amount of short selling and individual share prices. Nor was there any meaningful relationship between the proportion of short selling and the performance of stock prices in the market. As of September 2021, the number of securities firms o
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Sep 22, 2021

FSC and FSS Hold Meeting to Review Registration of VASPs

FSC Chairman Koh Seungbeom presided over a joint meeting between the FSC and the FSS on September 22 to review the progress of registration of virtual asset service providers as the September 24 deadline for business registration draws near. Key Details (Registration Status of VASPs) As of September 22, six VASPshave filed their registration reports and the authorities have so far decided to grant approval to one entity (Upbit). *VASPs: Upbit (Aug. 20), Bithumb (Sep. 9), Coinone (Sep. 10),Korbit (Sep. 10), Flybit (Sep. 17) Other (wallet or depository service provider): KODA (Sep. 17) The authorities expect that most VASPs and other entities (wallet or depository service providers) that have obtained ISMS certifications will file registration reports as 31 other entities (21 VASPs and 10 others) besides those mentioned above have entered preliminary consultation. Since September 17 when VASPs were required to start issuing advance notices about the prospect of business termination, the FSC and the FSS have been operating a monitoring team to review compliance on a daily basis. Except for four entities that have secured partnership with banks to open real-name transaction accounts, the authorities confirmed that 24 entities with ISMS certifications have put up notices informing about termination of KRW-based transaction services. Out of 14 entities that have applied for but failed to obtain ISMS certification, the authorities found that most of them have put up notices concerning their business termination or have already closed their business. (Chairmans Remarks on VASPs) In order to prevent and minimize potential damages incurred to virtual asset service users, Chairman Koh urged them to continuously check whether their VASPs have obtained ISMS certification and/or have been approved for operating their business beyond the September 24 deadline. While expressing his appreciation for VASPs that have been complying with the authorities recommendation to inform their c
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Sep 16, 2021

FSC and Industry Groups Agree on Six-month Extension of Loan Support for Small Businesses

FSC Chairman Koh Seungbeom held a meeting with the heads of the financial industrys self-regulatory organizations on September 16 and agreed to provide loan maturity extension and deferment of principal and interest payments to SMEs and small merchants that have been struggling through COVID-19 for six more months until the end of March 2022. Chairman Koh and the heads of financial associations also agreed to work for an orderly normalization process as there are concerns about potential risks to financial institutions and accumulation of payment burdens on debtors. Background The financial authorities have held a series of meetings recently with relevant groups and institutions over the issue of whether to extend the period of loan maturity extensions and payment deferrals in order to listen to diverse opinions and establish a common ground. Today, the government and the financial industry groups reached a final agreement to extend the availability of loan maturity extensions and deferments of principal and interest payments for SMEs and small merchants for six more months until the end of March 2022. The financial industry groups agreed on an extension as businesses continue to face difficulties amid rising COVID-19 cases and the total amount of support provided through interest payment deferrals as well as the balance of loans have not grown to significant levels. Working on Orderly Normalization Process The government and the financial industry groups agreed to work for an orderly normalization from COVID-19 support measures by implementing the following. a) For debtors with repayment capabilities, lenders will offer repayment plans tailored to individual debtors needs by offering up to one year of non-payment period and up to five years for installment payments. b) For vulnerable debtors, assistance programs will be offered through debt adjustment. Pre-workout programs offered by individual lenders will be made available not only to individual business owners b
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Sep 14, 2021

FSC Chairman Discusses Important role of Microfinance Policy

FSC Chairman Koh Seungbeom visited the Korea Inclusive Finance Support Center on September 14 and held a meeting with small merchants and self-employed business owners on the governments microfinance programs. Chairmans Remarks Microfinance policies are aimed at providing both financing and welfare opportunities. On the one hand, there is an obligation to make available adequate levels of low interest rate loans and debt adjustment opportunities to those that need them. On the other hand, there exist concerns over the possibility of loan defaults and the issue of moral hazard. Microfinance opportunities need to be provided in a flexible manner against the backdrop of a financial environment with these conflicting issues. With the lowering of the maximum legal lending and enhanced household debt management measures, lower income individuals with low credit backgrounds may face difficulties in accessing financing opportunities. With lower income individuals and other vulnerable groups continuing to face economic hardships due to COVID-19, it is important to make sufficient support available to them. To this end, the authorities have increased the amount of support available for microfinance from KRW7.9 trillion to KRW9.6 trillion.In this regard, a number of new microloan products were launched in this year to help prevent lower income earners and low credit holders from falling into a lending cliff. For individuals that have been hit by the COVID-19 and for young adults, the authorities will work to come up with more targeted support measures. For self-employed business owners facing the risk of business closure due to COVID-19, loan maturity extensions and payment deferrals as well as ultra-low rate loans have been made available. The authorities will look into ways to improve the debt adjustment programs to help those unable to pay off debt get back on their feet. The authorities will also work to introduce a new installment savings program with interest rate benefi
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