Press Releases - Financial Services Commission

Press Releases

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Nov 24, 2021

FSC Revokes Business License of Optimus Asset Management

The FSC decided to issue a revocation of business license on Optimus Asset Management along with other penalty measures imposed on its employees at the 21st regular meeting held on November 24. Pursuant to the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act, the FSC decided to revoke Optimus Asset Managements business license (effective immediately) for numerous counts of violations and inappropriate fund management activities linked to the large-scale redemption freeze causing massive investor damages in 2020. The FSC also decided to impose a fine of KRW114.4 million on Optimus Asset Management and order removal of key board members. The FSC also ordered a transfer of 43 funds in total that are currently managed by Optimus Asset Management to a new fund management companyRecovery Asset Managementthat has been set up by collective efforts of fund sellers. The FSC has designated the Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation to oversee Optimus Asset Managements liquidation process. The authorities will closely monitor the liquidation process and work on effective supervision to ensure that the transferred funds are properly managed by the newly appointed fund management company according to relevant laws. * Please refer to the attached PDF for details.
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Nov 23, 2021

KoFIU Holds International Conference Commemorating 20th Anniversary

The Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (KoFIU) hosted an international conference commemorating the 20th anniversary of its establishment on November 23.The conference was held to promote discussion on virtual asset and other important issues related to the anti-money laundering (AML) regime and foster strong international cooperation in this area. KoFIU Commissioner Kim Jeong-kag delivered a keynote address highlighting the importance of digital transformation and the critical role of the AML/CFT regime for building trust in the financial system. More specifically, Commissioner Kim discussed the need to make use of suptech in the AML/CFT regime and said that the emergence of new technologies and digital financial services makes it necessary for international organizations, regulatory authorities and financial institutions to work for closer cooperation and mutual understanding. On the recently revised Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recommendations on virtual assets and VASPs, Commissioner Kim said that the KoFIU will continue to work on regulatory improvements to ensure that the so-called travel rule for virtual assets and VASPs in Korea reflects global standards set forth by the FATF. The conference consisted of two sessions(a) virtual assets and the AML duties of virtual asset service providers and (b) digital transformation of the AML/CFT regime. Each session featured expert presentations followed by a panel discussion. Some of the notable participants to the venue included FATF president Marcus Pleyer and Thailands Anti-Money Laundering Office chief Piyapun Pingmuang. Officials from foreign FIUs also participated in the conference virtually. * Please refer to the attached PDF for details.
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Nov 22, 2021

FSC Announces Competitive Auction Result of KDIC's Stakes in Woori Financial Group

The FSC announced the result of the competitive auction of 9.3 percent of shares in Woori Financial Group held by the Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation on November 22. The Public Fund Oversight Committee has selected five winning bidders with bidding prices from all bidders exceeding KRW13,000 per share which is higher than the share price (KRW10,800) at the time the auction plan was unveiled on September 9. The five successful bidders are Eugene Private Equity (4%), KTB Asset Management (2.3%), Align Partners Consortium (1%), Dunamu (1%) and Woori Financial Groups employee stock ownership association (1%) with Eugene Private Equity earning the right to appoint an outside board member. With successful result of the auction, the KDIC will no longer be the largest shareholder of WFG and the governments goal of privatization of WFG has been accomplished in this round of auction some 23 years after the injection of public funds for bailout in 1998. The KDICs right to appoint a non-standing board member will expire when the current incumbents term ends in March 2022. The successful bidding result from this round will help recover KRW897.7 billion in public funds injected as bailout, with about KRW12.3 trillion out of the total KRW12.8 trillionor some 96.6 percentbeing recovered. A hundred percent recovery will be made possible if the KDICs holding of the remaining 5.8 percent stakes in WFG are sold at or above KRW10,193. It is expected that the KDIC will complete the share transfer process by December 9. The Public Fund Oversight Committee will work to promptly complete the sale of KDICs remaining shares in WFG at an appropriate time in the future. * Please refer to the attached PDF for details.
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Nov 22, 2021

Joint Debt Adjustment Program to Help Young Adults Struggling with Multiple Debts

The FSC and the Ministry of Education signed an agreement with the Korea Student Aid Foundation (KOSAF) and the Credit Counseling and Recovery Service (CCRS) on November 22 to set up a joint debt adjustment program and help relieve debt burdens of young adults who are struggling with multiple debts. The agreement introduces a joint debt adjustment program which will help young adults struggling with multiple debts (including student loans) by allowing debt cancellation of up to 30 percent off the principal and installment payment of maximum 20 years. As a part of the agreement, the KOSAF newly joined the CCRSs pact for credit recovery support to make student loans eligible for debt adjustment program managed by the CCRS. Thus, the joint debt adjustment program provided by the CCRS will handle both student loans and other types of loans of vulnerable young debtors. From 2022, the authorities expect that some 20,000 young adults who are struggling to pay off student loans will benefit from this program every year.The joint debt adjustment program will provide meaningful assistance to young adults facing the burden of multiple debts. * Please refer to the attached PDF for details.
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Nov 22, 2021

Additional Types of Public Financial Data Made Available through Open APIs

The FSC announced an expansion in the availability of public financial data offered through open APIs at www.data.go.kr. From November 22, public financial data managed by the Korea Exchange, Korea Financial Investment Association, Korea Life Insurance Association, General Insurance Association of Korea and Korea Inclusive Finance Agency will be opened up for use at www.data.go.kr through 18 standardized APIs with 40 functions. Since launching the public financial data platform in April 2019, which began to offer data managed by nine state-backed financial institutions and relevant agencies, the FSC has worked on making more types of public financial data available for a wider use. From June 9, 2020, public financial data from businesses and financial companies became available through open APIsand in September 2020, the authorities along with relevant institutions agreed to promote further opening of public financial data and facilitate its use in the private sector. As a follow-up measure to the last years agreement, the authorities will further open up public financial data managed by the five aforementioned institutions to promote big data analytics through data convergence, etc. The newly added data types include information about stocks and bonds, funds, insurance products, microloan products, etc. The authorities expect that opening up financial data stored and managed by public financial institutions and relevant agencies will help promote innovation and contribute to job creation in the private sector. The authorities will continue to work to meet data demands and seek improvements in the provision of public financial data. * Please refer to the attached PDF for details.
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Nov 19, 2021

FSC Chairman Attends FSB Plenary Meeting and Discusses Importance of Debt Control Measures

FSC Chairman Koh Seungbeom attended the Financial Stability Board Plenary meeting held on November 18 and discussed the importance of managing rising debt levels around the world. The FSB Plenary discussed financial stability outlook, scarring effects from COVID-19, issues affecting Emerging Markets and Developing Economies (EMDEs), implementation of resolution reforms and the FSB work program for 2022. Attending virtually via teleconference, Chairman Koh said that excessive debt accumulations had been problematic in the past, leading to the Asian financial crisis in 1997-1998 and the global financial crisis in 2008. In this regard, Chairman Koh raised concerns about an accumulation of financial imbalances caused by excessive debt and rising asset prices. To ensure stability in the financial system, Chairman Koh stressed the importance of managing household debt growth. Chairman Koh also spoke about increased levels of interconnectedness in financial sectors which raise concerns about the possibility of contagion effect in crisis situations between sectors and across different countries. To help address this problem, Chairman Koh said that international cooperation between regulatory authorities should be strengthened around the FSB. * Please refer to the attached PDF for details.
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Nov 17, 2021

FSC Chairman Pledges Policy Support in Meeting with Specialized Credit Finance Sector

FSC Chairman Koh Seungbeom held a meeting with the heads of credit card companies and other credit finance companies on November 17 and discussed ways to further promote the development of the specialized credit finance sector. Chairmans Remarks The financial industry is undergoing a major change with digital transformation taking place and the convergence of industries between the financial and non-financial sectors. Specialized credit finance businesses are also facing major challenges and thus need to seek alternative ways to strengthen their competitiveness. In this regard, the government will provide support to help promote further growth of the sector. First, the authorities will work to support credit card companies to grow as integrated payment service providers. The authorities will allow credit card companies to provide MyPayment services and expand the types of ancillary service areas they can assume beyond the currently allowed MyData service, small business CB and big data analytics with the aim of promoting the use of big data for new and innovative business areas. Second, the authorities will provide support to help specialized credit finance companies develop financial service platforms that can offer services tailored to the daily needs of financial consumers. The authorities will continue to promote the development of financial services tailored to the needs of individual consumers using MyPayment and MyData services, while considering the possibility of expanding the sectors platform business services into e-commerce areas, etc. Third, the authorities will work to improve regulations to help facilitate investments in new technology startups, promote contactless (and paperless) sales environment for credit card companies, etc. Innovative ways to deliver financial services to consumers in the specialized credit finance sector can have a significant and immediate impact on the consumers daily needs. As such, the government will continue to listen to
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Nov 10, 2021

Korean Translation of SASB Standards Made Available to Facilitate Sustainability Disclosures

The FSC announced that the authorities made available the Korean translated versions of the SASB (Sustainability Accounting Standards Board) standards to help facilitate businesses in adopting and complying with the sustainability disclosure rules. The International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Foundation has recently created a new standard-setting bodythe International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB)to offer global standards on sustainability disclosures. With the announcement of the plan to improve corporate disclosure rules in January 2021,the FSC unveiled plans to gradually expand the environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosure requirements to all KOSPI-listed companies by 2030. Currently, some 130 Korean businesses are filing sustainability reports on a voluntary basis using various standards and recommendations offered by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) or SASB. As it is widely expected that the newly created ISSB will develop global sustainability disclosure standards (expected in Q2 2022) based on the SASB standards (in particular, industry-specific standards sorted by sector), the authorities made available the Korean translated versionsof the SASB standards to help businesses prepare in advance. With an enhanced understanding of the SASB standards, the authorities expect that businesses will face less difficulties in preparing their sustainability reports. A wider usage of the SASB standards by companies will help increase consistency in sustainability reporting practices which will also help provide useful information to investors. The authorities will continue to promote ESG disclosure and help businesses prepare for global standards. *Please refer to the attached PDF for details.
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Nov 10, 2021

Household Loans, October 2021

The outstanding balance of loans to households increased KRW6.1 trillion in all financial sectors at the end of October 2021 (up 8.6% y-o-y).The balance of household loans increased KRW5.2 trillion in the banking sector and KRW0.9 trillion in the non-banking sector, showing a steady decline in the growth rate. All financial sectors (y-o-y): +10.0% (Jul) +9.5% (Aug) +9.2% (Sep) +8.6% (Oct) By type, mortgage loans went up KRW5.3 trillion in October, growing at a slower rate compared with the previous month (up KRW6.7 trillion) as the volume of housing transactions dropped. Other types of loans including credit loans grew at a slower rate (up KRW0.8 trillion) compared with the previous month (up KRW1.2 trillion). The growth of household loan balance has been steadily declining since July 2021. The financial authorities will continue to work for the seamless implementation of the household debt management measures announced in October. *Please refer to the attached PDF for details.
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Nov 03, 2021

FSC Proposes Rules Change to Facilitate Overseas Business Operation of Financial Companies

The FSC announced a plan for changing rules to facilitate financial companies business operation and investment activities in overseas markets on November 3. With a growing number of financial companies expanding their business operations overseas, financial companies foreign direct investment (FDI) activities in overseas markets have also grown.The volume of financial companies FDIs has grown in terms of both direct investment for establishing overseas branches and indirect investment through foreign funds. However, the current reporting rules have often caused unnecessary burden for financial companies in their overseas investment activities due to strict filing procedures, etc. As such, the FSC plans to change rules to simplify their reporting requirements and remove unnecessary burden. Key Details a) Currently, FDIs made through foreign funds are subject to the advance reporting requirement regardless of the investment amount. However, FDIs of USD30 million or less made through overseas branches can be subject to ex post facto reporting. Both FDIs made through foreign funds and FDIs made through overseas branches will be allowed for ex post factor reporting within one month for FDIs ofUSD20 million or less. b) Currently, financial companies investing ten percent or more in equity shares of foreign funds are required to report to the FSS about any changes in their ownership status even when changes in their equity shares occur due to changes in investment amounts made by other shareholders in proportion to their own shareholding. FDIs in foreign funds will be subject to the ten percent reporting rule only at the time of making initial investment and financial companies will be exempted from further reporting duties when changes in their shareholding occur without additional investments. c) Currently, some of the routine activities by financial companies overseas branches, such as equity trading or loan transaction of more than one year, are subject to reporting d
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Nov 03, 2021

FSC Chairman Emphasizes Consumer Protection and Discusses Role of Insurance Business

FSC Chairman Koh Seungbeom held a meeting with the heads of insurance companies and relevant officials on November 3 and discussed the role of insurance business and importance of consumer protection. Chairmans Remarks Rapid changes taking place in the structure of demographics, rising interest rates, digital transformation and spread of platform businesses are demanding innovation from the insurance industry. In order to build a foundation for the future of the industry, it is necessary to look at the scope of insurance coverages, the sales and payout process and so on. To help promote further development of the insurance industry, the authorities provide support in the following areas. First, the authorities will provide active support for insurance companies to help strengthen the function private-sector safety net in response to demographic change. The authorities will set up a public-private joint consultative body to formulate measures for improving the indemnity health insurance system. To preemptively respond to newly emerging risks, such as the spread of infectious disease, the government will enhance inter-agency coordination to promote insurance on transmissible diseases. In addition, the authorities will look into ways to strengthen the role of pension insurance to address rapid demographic changes. Second, the government will support diversification of insurance business and their organizational models to help insurers better cope with the changing environment. Specific measures will be prepared to ease the current licensing rules to reflect diversification of consumer needs and insurance products. While continuing to work on introducing small-sum and short-term insurance products, the authorities will allow insurers to assume other related business areas that are deemed to be essential for operating new business, such as a platform-based health care-related service offering. Third, the government will support digital innovation of insurance business to
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Nov 01, 2021

FSC and FSS Launch Taskforce to Closely Monitor Household Debt Management Measures

The FSC and the FSS launched a taskforce on household debt management and held a kick-off meeting on November 1. The taskforce has been set up as part of the efforts to strengthen control over a recent increase in household debt levels. The kick-off meeting was attended by officials from credit guarantee institutions, industry groups and Korea Credit Information Services where participants discussed an overall implementation plan for the recently announced supplemental measures on household debt management. At the meeting, the authorities pledged to closely follow progress in the implementation of the recently announced household debt management measures and to work for the management of household debt growth at a stable level at 4 to 5 percent next year. With regard to collective lending for prospective homeowners (new apartment buyers) who need to take out loans to make balance payments in the fourth quarter of 2021, the authorities will maintain direct communication lines with individual lending institutions to ensure the availability of loans and help prevent credit shortages. The taskforce will seek to find additional measures needed to more effectively manage household debt-related risks by closely examining trends in other developed economies to help promote more responsible lending practices. The taskforce will hold meetings once every one to two weeks to closely follow the implementation of measures while continuing to seek ways for improvement. * Please refer to the attached PDF for details.
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Oct 28, 2021

Consumer Protection Rules Established on Recurring Payment for Subscription Business Users

The FSC approved a revision proposal of the supervisory regulation on specialized credit finance business at its regular meeting held on October 27, which establishes consumer protection rules on recurring payment for subscription business users. The revised rules provide specific details about the notification requirement and standards for fair refund policy. (Notification requirement) Subscription businesses are required to notify their customers seven days prior to switching their service provision from free offering to recurring payment-based services. (Refund policy) Subscription businesses are required to set up fair standards for refund policy, charging only the amount of fee commensurate with the used up monthly service. The revised rules will go into effect from November 18, 2021 along with the revised Enforcement Decree of the Specialized Credit Finance Business Act. * Please refer to the attached PDF for details.
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Oct 28, 2021

FSC Chairman Pledges Support for Digital Transformation of Banking Industry

FSC Chairman Koh Seungbeom met with the heads of major banks and industry group leaders in the banking sector on October 28 and held talks on ways to promote the banking industrys growth in the future. Chairmans Remarks With digital transformation taking place throughout the economy, the financial industry and banks are experiencing major changesincreased financial transactions through mobile and other contactless channels, unbundling and re-bundling of various financial services, financial services being offered through platforms, etc. Amid these changes taking place, it is necessary to think about the future of bank and ways to boost the competitiveness of the banking industry. To help foster the banking industrys advancement in the future, it is important to focus on the following three factors(a) digital transformation, (b) innovative business model and (c) fair competition. The FSC will work to provide active support for the industry in these areas. First, the authorities will work to create an environment where the idea of digital universal bank becomes possible through an integrated mobile app that offers a wide-array of financial services ranging from banking to insurance to stock trading, etc. The authorities will also look into ways to facilitate data sharing between financial and non-financial data and provide active support for banks making investments in new digital business areas. Second, the authorities will help facilitate banks to innovate their business models by allowing them to expand business areas into the comprehensive asset management sector and open up their investment advisory activities beyond the currently permitted real estate sector. Third, the authorities will continue to seek ways to foster a level playing field to promote financial innovation rooted in fair competition. Promoting advancement of the financial industry is a key task alongside maintaining stability in the financial system. The FSC will continue to closely communicate wi
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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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