Press Releases - Financial Services Commission

Press Releases

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Jun 11, 2020

FSC Chairman Highlights the Role of Finance in Post-pandemic Economy

FSC Chairman Eun Sung-soo attended the Financial Development Review Committee meeting on June 11 and spoke about the crucial role of finance in a post-COVID-19 era economy.The following is a summary of Chairman Eun’s remarks.CHANGING ENVIRONMENT CAUSED BY PANDEMICThroughout history, large-scale epidemics triggered structural changes in social and economic orders. The COVID-19 pandemic, too, will bring an irreversible paradigm shift in the political, economic and social orders throughout the world. Many experts expect that a return to normalcy will not be possible. Therefore, forecasting the new paradigm and preparing for changes are important tasks.(CHANGING INTERNATIONAL ORDER) The future of the Korean economy will depend on how well we prepare for protectionist trade policies and structural changes in global trade order and supply chains.(CHANGING PATTERNS IN PRODUCTION, DISTRIBUTION CONSUMPTION) Started as a mere phenomenon, access to ‘untact’ or non-face-to-face services has grown to become a part of ordinary economic activities. The changing patterns of production, distribution and consumption, such as more use of telecommuting, ‘untact’ economic services and online shopping, are expected to bring about fundamental changes in the economic structure.In this regard, digital transformation is no longer an option but a necessity. The Korean economy’s future competitiveness hinges upon how swiftly and effectively we carry out digital transformation for changing patterns in our economic activities.(GROWING DEMAND FOR SOCIAL SAFETY NET) The COVID-19 pandemic has awakened our awareness for the safety of society. More attention is paid to inclusive economic policies. The changes in global supply chains and digital transformation will unfortunately lead to job losses in some sectors and create polarization. As such, the demand for social and economic safety nets is expected to increase.ROLE OF FINANCE IN POST-PANDEMIC ECONOMYAgainst this backdrop, the committ
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Jun 11, 2020

Government Launches KRW2 Trillion-plus Program to Purchase Corporate Assets

The government announced its plans to launch a KRW2 trillion-plus program to purchase corporate assets at the 6th Meeting of the Central Economic Response Headquarters on June 11.BACKGROUNDIn order to provide liquidity and bolster financing options for businesses amid the pandemic, the government has made available KRW175 trillion-plus in financial support programs, from which about KRW52.6 trillion has been provided as of June 8.Aside from the government-backed financing programs, companies have been selling off their assets to boost liquidity. Asset sell-offs are an important strategy for corporate restructuring and improving company’s financial structure. For companies’ self-rescue efforts to be effective, asset sell-offs should take place at fair prices.To facilitate this, the government will set up a special purpose vehicle (SPV) at the Korea Asset Management Corporation (KAMCO) to purchase corporate assets at fair prices, stimulating private sector demand for corporate assets.KEY DETAILSA KRW2 trillion-plus SPV will be created through bond issuance from KAMCO with the possibility of expanding the fund size with participation from the privately managed funds. KAMCO will work to increase its funding capacity by making investments in assets with different term periods.The SPV will purchase assets held by all sized companies but will primarily invest in assets that are unlikely to attract sufficient demand in the market. An input from outside experts, such as accounting firms, will be used to help establish objective and balanced pricing standards.Based on the characteristics or types of assets and considering the future possibility of buybacks, the SPV will adopt different buying strategies—(a) buy and hold, (b) sale and leaseback, and (c) sale and call option agreement.The Corporate Structure Innovation Support Center run by KAMCO will function as a platform to promote information sharing and act as an intermediary between sellers and buyers. It will promo
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Jun 11, 2020

Financial Policy Tasks for H2 2020

FSC Chairman Eun Sung-soo held a press briefing on June 11 and laid out the government’s financial policy plans for the second half of 2020.FINANCIAL RESPONSE TO COVID-19 PANDEMICFor the most part of the first half 2020, the FSC has focused on the financial support measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The FSC will continue to work on the provision of prompt support through the KRW175 trillion-plus financial assistance programs.(CURRENT STATUS OF RELIEF PROVISION) The key industry stabilization fund launched on May 28 will be operational and begin to provide supports in June. As of the end of May, about KRW1.2 trillion in P-CBOs has been issued in support of the corporate bond market, with the June issuance of more than KRW1 trillion in pending. The KRW10 trillion special purpose vehicle (SPV) will be launched to provide support for purchasing low-rated corporate bonds and commercial paper as soon as the 3rd supplementary budget is passed at the National Assembly.The government expects that each type of the aforementioned support program will complement the others and helps minimize loopholes in providing financial assistance to the businesses in need.(CORPORATE ASSET PURCHASE PROGRAM) The government introduced a KRW2 trillion corporate asset sales support program this morning, through which the Korea Asset Management Corporation (KAMCO) will purchase corporate assets at fair prices. The government will also work on additional measures to improve the financing support for SMEs.PROMOTING INNOVATION IN FINANCIAL SERVICESWith the COVID-19 pandemic, some of the key policy tasks put forward at the beginning of the year have been pushed back in terms of policy priority. During the second half, the FSC will redirect efforts at promoting innovation while also balancing the changes brought about by the pandemic.(TARGETED SUPPORT FOR 1,000 INNOVATIVE FIRMS) It is expected that the first 20 business areas will be selected within the next month by the relevant minist
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Jun 10, 2020

Houshold Loans, May 2020

The outstanding balance of household loans in all financial sectors rose KRW3.6 trillion from the previous month in May 2020 (up 5.2% year-on-year).By type, mortgage loans increased KRW3.7 trillion in May (up KRW1.9 trillion year-on-year). Regular mortgage loans, jeonse loans and group lending expanded KRW3.9 trillion in the banking sector, while non-banks saw a drop of KRW200 billion. Other types of loans fell KRW30 billion (down KRW4.0 trillion year-on-year) due to a drop in credit card loans and policy loans.The government will continue to closely monitor trends in household loans amid the COVID-19 pandemic.* Please refer to the attached PDF for details.
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Jun 09, 2020

Preliminary Application Opens for Designation of Data Specializing Institution

The FSC announced on June 9 that the preliminary application for the designation of data specializing institution will be open from June 10 to 24.The revised Credit Information Act, which is scheduled to go into effect on August 5, incorporates the concept of anonymized and pseudonymized data and authorizes the government designated data specializing institution to perform convergence of pseudonymized data originating from different businesses. The data specializing institution will also test the appropriateness of anonymized data upon requests.REQUIREMENTSApplying entities should (a) be non-profit or public institutions, (b) have eight or more specialists in the field of data or information security as well as legal professionals, with its board members having no recent record of violating either the Personal Information Protection Act or the Credit Information Act, (c) have set up data processing, IT and information security facilities suitable for data convergence, (d) have total debt within 200 percent of net assets, and (e) have risk management and internal control mechanisms for the purpose of identity protection with its mission and business area appropriate for performing the tasks of a data specializing institution.OPERATIONAL GUIDELINESWhile maintaining the right balance between data protection and data utilization, a streamlined and secure process for data convergence will be put in place. Also, rigorous security standards will be established in order to prevent data leakage and re-identification.The appropriateness test for anonymized data will go through an objective and efficient process by a review committee of experts.SCHEDULEThe designation of data specializing institution will be announced within August after a review of preliminary applications in July and registration on August 5.* Please refer to the attached PDF for details.
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Jun 09, 2020

Vice Chairman Vows to Maintain Close Market Monitoring and Risk Management

FSC Vice Chairman Sohn Byungdoo held the 7th financial risk assessment meeting on June 9 to assess the financial market conditions and check the implementation status of the COVID-19 financial support.The following is a summary of Vice Chairman’s remarks.(CURRENT SITUATION) There are continuing signs of market stability with stock prices recovering to pre-COVID-19 levels and the yield spreads in corporate bond and CP markets stabilizing. In June, about KRW12 trillion of corporate bonds and KRW53 trillion of CP and short-term bonds are up for maturity. Given the recent improvement in the market conditions and that most of them have AA- or A1 rating, there will not be much difficulty for businesses to raise capital through issuing or refinancing bonds.For ‘fallen angel’ companies, various supports are available from the bond market stabilization fund, corporate bond takeover programs by policy banks and the special purpose vehicle aimed at purchasing corporate bonds and CP.Securities firms ran into liquidity problems in March-April in the process of fulfilling their purchase agreements for asset-backed commercial paper, but the problems large subsided in May with the easing of credit crunch in the short-term money markets.(SUPPORTING ECONOMIC RECOVERY) The Financial Stability Board stressed the important role of the financial sector in supporting the recovery efforts from the pandemic-induced economic crisis while suggesting regulatory flexibility to help facilitate banks’ lending function. In this regard, the FSC introduced in April its plans to temporarily ease financial regulations, including the early adoption of Basel III credit risk framework for banks and the easing of rules on banks’ liquidity coverage ratio. Among them, 21 measures have now gone into effect with nine others expected to go into effect in July.FINANCIAL SUPPORT PROVIDEDBetween February 7 and June 5, a total of KRW124.7 trillion (1.53 million cases) in loans and guarantees as well as l
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Jun 08, 2020

FSC Opens Up Public Financial Big Data

The FSC will make available about 44.5 million cases of public financial data through open API at www.data.go.kr beginning on June 9. Among the newly made available data, some 580,000 cases of non-listed firms’ data will be opened up to the public for free for the first time, which is expected to help contribute to the advancement of the data economy and fintech industry.The financial big data being opened up to the public is a byproduct of the linkage, convergence and standardization of large sets of public financial data stored at the FSC and nine other public financial institutions.With the launching of public financial big data, more jobs are expected to be created in this field as well as more data-driven innovative services.The FSC will work to make available more types of financial data and increase the number of participating institutions to the open financial big data system.* Please refer to the attached PDF for details.
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Jun 08, 2020

FSC Unveils New Bill on Supervision of Financial Conglomerates

The FSC unveiled a new bill on the supervision of financial conglomerates on June 5, which lays legal grounds for the supervision of non-holding financial groups that have financial assets of KRW5 trillion or more. It also contains provisions that authorize the FSC to demand a management improvement plan to help improve their financial soundness. The proposed bill will be submitted to the National Assembly in September this year.BACKGROUNDThe supervision of financial conglomerates is an internationally adopted regulatory mechanism implemented by major economies since the Joint Forum first introduced the principles for supervision of financial conglomerates in 1999. In Korea, financial holding companies have been subject to supervision through the Financial Holding Companies Act. However, there exist regulatory blind spots for non-holding financial groups despite their significance to the system. The IMF’s Financial Sector Assessment Program in April this year pointed out this problem and recommended that legislation on the supervision of systemically important non-holding groups is necessary to help remove the regulatory discrepancy existing between the holding and non-holding groups.As a key policy task of the current administration, the FSC introduced best practice guidelines for comprehensive supervision of financial conglomerates in July 2018, through which the authorities have been able to test run the comprehensive supervisory framework before an enactment of the relevant law.KEY PROVISIONSThe proposed bill on the supervision of financial conglomerates takes into account the current best practice guidelines, comments received during the test run period, research outcomes and the compatibility with the international standards.► FINANCIAL GROUPS: Financial groups are defined as those with financial assets in the amount of KRW5 trillion or more, except financial holding companies and state-owned banks.► INTERNAL RISK MANAGEMENT: An internal group-wide risk
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Jun 08, 2020

FSC Launches Task Force on Authentication and ID Verification in Financial Services

The FSC held the first task force meeting on improving the personal authentication and identity verification system in financial services on June 8. At the meeting, the task force discussed policies on technological neutrality, development of a distinct industry field and data security in financial services.The widespread usage of mobile communication devices and a growing demand for digital and ‘untact’ services are expected to accelerate further digitalization of electronic financial transactions.The passage of the revised Digital Signature Act on May 20 at the National Assembly paved the way for a vibrant competition between diverse authentication services including simple passwords and different types of biometric authentication mechanisms.Against this backdrop, the FSC has launched a task force to come up with a new regulatory framework for the personal authentication and identity verification system.The FSC will support the development of diverse types of innovative authentication mechanisms that can provide convenience, safety and security in electronic financial transactions. The task force will also work on creating a multi-level identification system commensurate with the different levels of importance and complexity in electronic financial transactions.The FSC plans to seek improvements to the current system based on the outcome of the task force meetings.* Please refer to the attached PDF for details.
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Jun 05, 2020

Vice Chairman Vows Strong Support to Educate More Professionals in Digital Finance

The FSC, the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) signed a memorandum of understanding for launching digital finance educational programs to help cultivate more experts in the field on June 5.Vice Chairman Sohn Byungdoo delivered congratulatory remarks at the MOU signing event and vowed to provide strong support to help educate more professionals equipped with the knowledge and expertise on the latest trends and technologies in digital finance.Vice Chairman Sohn stated that the COVID-19 has brought about more demand for ‘untact’ and ‘officeless’ services in the financial industry as well as in our daily lives, and emphasized on the importance of digital transformation and educating more talented professionals to make that happen.The MBA program in digital finance and non-degree professional programs will commence in September and August, respectively.* Please refer to the attached PDF for details.
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Jun 04, 2020

FSC Selects 3 More Fintechs as Designated Agents to Provide Financial Services

The FSC selected Naver Financial, Kona I and Korea Receivables Online Exchange System as designated fintech firms on June 4, allowing them to provide financial services on behalf of Mirae Asset Capital, Acuon Capital and Samsung Card, respectively.Using AI technologies to analyze non-financial e-commerce transaction data, Naver Financial and Kona I will provide alternative credit evaluation services for individuals and small merchants to be used for loan applications. The service is expected to promote accounts receivable financing based on e-commerce data.Using information about SMEs’ electronic bills and accounts receivable, Korea Receivables Online Exchange System will provide estimates on the limits of their business credit cards. For SMEs with thin credit history, this is expected to help increase their valuation.The FSC has selected a total of 31 designated fintech firms so far since May 2018. Application for the next round will be open from June 8 to August 7 with the results expected to be announced in October.* Please refer to the attached PDF for details.
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Jun 04, 2020

Financial Authorities Recommend Caution with P2P Loan Investment

The financial authorities advised investors to practice caution when investing in peer-to-peer lending products on June 4 due to a rise in P2P loan default rate and cases involving unfair and unlawful sales practices by some companies. Investors should make investment decisions with adequate understanding about the products and be well aware that P2P loan products are high-yield, high-return products with no principal guarantees.Investors should also note that an information asymmetry is highly likely between investors and P2P lending firms with investors often lacking information about the borrowers’ credit records, collateral values, repayment plans, etc.The Act on Online-linked Financing scheduled to take effect on August 27 contains a series of investor protection measures, and investors are recommended to take note of these measure. The financial authorities will continue to keep a close eye on P2P lending firms that engage in unfair sales or promotional practices. The authorities will strengthen site inspection and take stern measures when unlawful activities are suspected.* Please refer to the attached PDF for details.
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Jun 03, 2020

Government Proposes KRW4.7 Trillion in Additional Financial Support

The government approved the 3rd supplementary budget proposal at a cabinet meeting on June 3, which includes KRW4.7 trillion in additional funding for various financial support programs. This supplementary budget proposal needs to be passed at the National Assembly.(COVID-19 FINANCIAL SUPPORT) (a) KRW1.5 trillion in emergency loans for small-scale businesses and SMEs and (b) KRW3 trillion in capital injection to help provide emergency liquidity for key industries and businesses(SUPPORT ECONOMIC RECOVERY VULNERABLE GROUPS) (a) KRW30 billion to support the recovery and prepare for a post-COVID-19 economy, (b) KRW100 billion to provide financial support to farming and fishing households, (c) KRW17.5 billion in microfinancing programs for individuals with low income and low credit histories, and (d) KRW50 billion in capital injection to the Korea Asset Management Corporation to help establish a corporate asset purchase program* Please refer to the attached PDF for details.
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Jun 02, 2020

FSC to Work on Turning Crisis Situation into Opportunity for Digital Innovation

FSC Vice Chairman Sohn Byungdoo held the 6th financial risk assessment meeting on June 2 to review the current status of the COVID-19 financial support for businesses and households.The following is a summary of Vice Chairman’s remarks.(CURRENT SITUATION) The financial markets have largely stabilized due to the measures taken by the government. However, there still remain risk factors, and the government will continue to closely monitor markets while implementing its market stabilization measures. As decided on May 28 and 29, the government will promptly provide support to businesses through quick corporate bond underwriting program and issuance of P-CBOs, while providing liquidity to help businesses maintain their competitiveness. The government will also expedite the preparation for the effective operation of the key industry stabilization fund and special purpose vehicle to help most heavily affected industries as well as businesses with lower-rated bonds and CP.(COVID-19 SUPPORT) The provision of the second phase financial support for small merchants has been effective, as the availability of untact application system helped minimize bottleneck effects. The government will also closely monitor trends in individual debtors although the number of debtors with overdue payments of five to 89 days or more than 90 days has been in decline.(2020 KOREA FINTECH WEEK) Korea’s second global fintech expo held virtually from May 28 has provided opportunities to develop strategies on fintech and digital finance. Participation from more than 150 businesses showcasing their innovative products and services has helped to advance our ‘untact’ capabilities. The government will work to turn this pandemic-induced situation into an opportunity for digital innovation.FINANCIAL SUPPORT PROVIDEDAs of May 29, a total of KRW117.3 trillion (1.42 million cases) in loans and guarantees as well as loan and guarantee extensions were provided to the SMEs and small-scale businesses that
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