Eun Sung-soo: "Woori Financial's Complete Privatization Direction to Be Set at the Public Affairs Committee on the 22nd" (Comprehensive)

Eun Sung-soo, Chairman of the Financial Services Commission, is speaking at a press conference held on the afternoon of the 11th at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul. (Provided by the Financial Services Commission)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyo-jin] Eun Sung-soo, Chairman of the Financial Services Commission, said on the 11th regarding Woori Financial Group's 'complete privatization,' "We will be able to set the direction while discussing with the members at the Public Fund Management Committee on the 22nd."

Chairman Eun made this remark in response to reporters' questions about the timing and conditions of Woori Financial's share sale during a press briefing on key tasks for the second half of this year held at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, in the afternoon.

He explained, "Originally, we planned to attempt the sale in the first half of the year, but the stock price was very poor," adding, "I considered whether it is more important to keep the promise despite the falling stock price or to recover a certain amount of the public funds since public funds are the people's taxes."

The government announced last year a plan to start the first round of share sales in the first half of this year and to conduct dispersed sales two to three times over three years until 2022 for the remaining shares of Woori Financial. However, due to the impact of COVID-19, the stock price dropped significantly, and discussions did not gain momentum. The government holds 17.25% of Woori Financial's shares through the Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation.

Regarding the current situation where negotiations for HDC Hyundai Development Company's acquisition of Asiana Airlines have effectively returned to square one, Chairman Eun said, "There are understandable aspects from both sides' perspectives," and expressed the policy authorities' hope that "the uncertainty will end quickly." He also mentioned, "I think it would be good for the two parties (HDC Hyundai and the Korea Development Bank) to meet and have a dialogue first."

On the issue of injecting the Industrial Stabilization Fund into Asiana Airlines, which has been hit hard by COVID-19, Chairman Eun stated, "It must be a complete M&A (merger and acquisition)," and "The fund should be injected only after the M&A is completed." His position is that it is somewhat ambiguous for the fund to be injected during the intermediate stages of the acquisition process.

Regarding the possibility of additional government regulatory measures to stabilize housing prices, Chairman Eun said, "If the real estate market hits a bottom and shows signs of instability again, and if this poses a risk to our economy, it is naturally the government's role to establish appropriate measures," adding, "The government's policy is consistently to prepare measures if the market is unstable."

Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, hinted at the possibility of additional regulatory measures for housing price stabilization by stating at the 6th Emergency Economic Central Countermeasures Headquarters (Economic Central Headquarters) meeting in the morning, "If signs of instability in the housing market appear, necessary measures will be taken promptly without hesitation."

Deputy Prime Minister Hong also pointed out, "Housing prices in Seoul and other areas have generally remained stable since the December 16 measures, and although there is a forecast of housing price decline due to the recent contraction in the real economy, concerns about a rebound in housing prices based on low interest rates and abundant liquidity coexist."

Regarding the operation of an asset purchase program worth 'KRW 2 trillion + α' centered on the Korea Asset Management Corporation (KAMCO), Chairman Eun said, "There is no discrimination in the purchase targets," and "We should actively buy assets from companies facing difficulties, whether due to COVID-19 or not, to help them."

He added, "I think it would be good to support companies' self-help efforts to secure liquidity by selling assets besides taking out loans," explaining, "If companies sell assets and we provide liquidity, they can survive with that liquidity, and this can become a win-win cooperation that reduces the burden on creditors accordingly."

Regarding the issue raised by some that the Blue House's Civil Affairs Office excessively pressured the Financial Supervisory Service beyond its authority during an audit, which started from a 'tu-seo' (anonymous letter) in the financial sector, Chairman Eun said, "I have no information about that, and I am not in a position to comment on what the Blue House did. I have nothing to say about it."

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