[New Year's Address] Yoon Seok-heon, Financial Supervisory Service Chief, "Regret for Not Preventing Loosening of Private Equity Fund Regulations"

"Financial Supervision System Requires In-Depth Discussion"
"Must Fulfill Role as National Risk Management"

Yoon Seok-heon, Governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, responding to questions from the press corps at the year-end meeting of the Financial Supervisory Service press corps held remotely on the 23rd.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kangwook Cho] Yoon Seok-heon, Governor of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), expressed regret on the 31st, saying, "When the deregulation of private equity funds was discussed in 2014 and 2015, we should have more firmly applied the 'brake' with conviction, but unfortunately, we did not."

In his New Year's address released that day, Governor Yoon said, "To effectively prevent recurring financial accidents and thereby restore trust in finance, in-depth discussions are needed on what constitutes an effective financial supervisory system." He reiterated his long-held belief in the 'independence of the FSS' from his academic days.

He stated his intention to act as a national risk manager. To this end, he plans to focus on ▲ strengthening the resilience of the financial system ▲ enhancing financial intermediation capabilities ▲ reinforcing financial consumer protection and inclusive finance ▲ supporting sustainable financial innovation.

To strengthen the resilience of the financial system, Governor Yoon said, "We will urge financial companies to improve their loss absorption capacity by sufficiently provisioning reserves, strengthen capital management, and ensure no negligence in internal control and risk management."

This is explained as an effort to maintain a constant state of readiness so that finance can fulfill its fundamental role as a safety net for our economy and society.

He also said, "In the post-COVID-19 era, supporting the development of new industries and establishing a long-term growth foundation requires efficient financial intermediation," adding, "We will encourage comprehensive financial investment business operators to expand their funding support functions for companies and support private equity funds to fulfill their role as sound sources of venture capital."

Financial consumer protection and inclusive finance will be continuously strengthened. The plan includes preemptively organizing debt adjustment systems for self-employed individuals and vulnerable borrowers and encouraging the expansion of financial and management consulting support.

Governor Yoon plans to continuously promote the establishment of a foundation for sustainable financial innovation. Amid accelerating digitalization of finance, he intends to ensure a fair competition framework and thoroughly manage risks arising from digitalization.

Quoting Mencius, "If the will is not strong, wisdom cannot be attained; if words are not trustworthy, actions cannot be bold," he emphasized, "Let us engrave in our hearts the duty as the irreplaceable 'national risk manager.'"

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