"Financial Services Commission Opposes Designation of Financial Supervisory Service as Public Institution, Submits Official Opinion to Ministry of Economy and Finance"

"Financial Supervisory Service Has No Practical Benefit as a Public Institution"
Official Response to Ministry of Economy and Finance's Request for Opinion
Ministry's Public Operation Committee to Conclude at End of This Month Meeting

Yoon Seok-heon (left), Governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, and Eun Sung-soo, Chairman of the Financial Services Commission. / Photo by Jin-hyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kangwook Cho] The Financial Services Commission (FSC) has officially expressed opposition to the Financial Supervisory Service's (FSS) re-designation as a public institution.

According to financial authorities on the 11th, the FSC recently submitted a statement opposing the FSS's designation as a public institution to the Ministry of Economy and Finance's Public Institution Management Committee.

This follows the Ministry of Economy and Finance notifying the FSC at the end of last month that "the FSS meets the requirements of a public institution under the Act on the Management of Public Institutions" and requesting a response.

The FSC is reported to have stated in its opinion that "since the FSS's budget and other matters are controlled by the FSC, there is no practical benefit to its designation as a public institution."

If designated as a public enterprise or quasi-governmental agency, strict management evaluations and guidelines apply, and checks and balances in governance are strengthened, thereby enhancing the accountability of the institution's operations. If designated as another type of public institution, transparency is increased through management disclosures.

The FSC's position is that since the FSS is already controlled at a level comparable to that of a public institution, it opposes the designation as a public institution.

FSC Chairman Eun Sung-soo also reiterated his opposition to the re-designation of the FSS as a public institution during the November plenary session of the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee last year, stating, "I hope it is not done from the perspective of independence."

Previously, the government had deferred the FSS's designation as a public institution in 2018, attaching conditions such as eradicating hiring irregularities, management disclosures at the level of public institutions, strict management evaluations, and resolving inefficient organizational operations.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance's Public Institution Management Committee is scheduled to hold a meeting at the end of this month to conclude whether to designate the FSS as a public institution.

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