Financial Services Commission and Bank of Korea Clash Over Electronic Financial Transactions Act... Bank of Korea Refutes Point by Point

The Bank of Korea and Financial Services Commission Refute "Big Brother Controversy" Point by Point

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee] The conflict between the Bank of Korea and the Financial Services Commission is deepening over the amendment to the Electronic Financial Transactions Act, which requires the Korea Financial Telecommunications and Clearings Institute (KFTC) to collect all transaction information, including internal transactions of big tech companies such as Naver Pay and Kakao Pay.

When the Bank of Korea criticized the Financial Services Commission's amendment as a "Big Brother Act" due to concerns over the collection and misuse of personal transaction information, Financial Services Commission Chairman Eun Sung-soo rebutted, saying, "The Bank of Korea's claim that the amendment is a Big Brother Act is a misunderstanding," and the Bank of Korea responded with a counter-rebuttal.

Earlier, on the 19th, Chairman Eun explained to reporters, "The amendment to the Electronic Financial Transactions Act is to keep records so that when a financial accident occurs, the rightful owner of the money can be identified and the funds returned," adding, "It is similar to how call records remain with telecom companies when you make a phone call."

He criticized, "If all of that is Big Brother, how could people feel secure enough to conduct transactions?"

According to the amendment, big tech companies like Naver and Kakao must conduct financial transactions with users through the KFTC's payment system. The Financial Services Commission can monitor and supervise transaction details via the KFTC. The Financial Services Commission argues that this system for big tech companies is for information collection in preparation for financial accidents, and information inquiries are only possible in limited cases such as after a court warrant following an incident.

Chairman Eun explained the purpose of the amendment by saying, "When an incident occurs, financial authorities obtain data according to the law to identify the owner of the funds," but the Bank of Korea views this as lacking legitimacy.

A Bank of Korea official stated, "The Big Brother issue arises from forcibly concentrating vast amounts of information about citizens' everyday transactions, so limiting it to specific cases does not resolve the concern." The Bank of Korea also rejects Chairman Eun's claim that, according to the Bank of Korea's logic, it is effectively admitting to being Big Brother.

In fact, the Bank of Korea explains that internal transaction details exchanged within the same bank are not sent to the KFTC, and in the case of external transactions such as transfers to other banks, only the minimum information necessary for fund transfers is sent to the KFTC.

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