The Korea Financial Investment Association Provides Guidelines for Securities and Asset Management Firms to Enable Remote Work to Prevent the Spread of COVID-19

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Hwajeong]Employees in the financial investment industry, such as securities firms and asset management companies, are expected to be able to work from home if necessary to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

According to the financial investment industry on the 14th, the Korea Financial Investment Association (KOFIA) received a non-action opinion letter from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) on the 10th, stating that it is exceptionally possible to remotely access work systems. KOFIA informed its member companies, including securities firms and asset management companies, that this applies to them as well. The non-action opinion letter is a system where financial authorities respond when financial companies request a review on whether a specific issue violates regulations; this letter was a response from the FSS to KOFIA's request.

According to Article 15, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 3 of the Electronic Financial Supervisory Regulations, financial companies and electronic financial service providers are required to separate and block work systems from external communication networks. The FSS judged that, to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and avoid work stoppages caused by quarantining infected employees, remote access can be exceptionally permitted. In the non-action opinion letter, the FSS stated, "Financial companies and electronic financial service providers may work from home via remote access when there is a significant loss of personnel that makes it difficult to secure business continuity due to infectious diseases or other illnesses, or when such loss is highly likely."

Furthermore, the FSS added, "Work from home should be limited to essential personnel in unavoidable situations such as difficulty securing alternative resources," and "Once the emergency situation ends, work from home should be immediately stopped, and remote access should be blocked to prevent unnecessary telecommuting."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.