Seungbeom Ko and Eunbo Jeong Strengthen Cooperation System... "Proactive Response to Household and Self-Employed Debt" (Comprehensive)

Extension of COVID-19 Loan Maturities Under Review Considering COVID-19 and Real Economy
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Financial Services Commission Chairman Ko Seung-beom and Financial Supervisory Service Governor Jung Eun-bo held their first meeting of the new year on the 6th at the FSS Governor's office in Yeouido, Seoul, and pledged to maintain close cooperation to ensure financial stability and crisis response. Chairman Ko (left) and Governor Jung are taking a commemorative photo.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwangho Lee] On the 6th, Financial Services Commission Chairman Ko Seung-beom and Financial Supervisory Service Governor Jung Eun-bo held their first meeting of the new year, prioritizing proactive measures against potential risk factors such as household debt risks, the accumulation of self-employed debt, and non-bank sector risks, and agreed to maintain a close cooperative system.

According to the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service, the two leaders held a new year meeting at the FSS Governor's office in Yeouido, Seoul, sharing their recognition of the uncertainties and environmental changes facing the Korean economy and finance, including the recent resurgence of COVID-19, the global normalization of financial policies, and the accumulation of domestic and international financial imbalances.

Chairman Ko said, "We plan to continuously support the Financial Supervisory Service so that its personnel are reinforced and deployed appropriately, enabling proactive responses to major issues such as the recent digital transformation of finance and full efforts to protect financially vulnerable groups." He added, "Through this, I ask you to take charge of thorough financial supervision in managing new types of risks and protecting financial consumers."

In response, Governor Jung said, "We will expand the supervisory capabilities of the Financial Supervisory Service by strengthening personnel and organization." He emphasized, "Going forward, based on laws and principles, we will strive for a balance between preemptive and post-supervision, focusing on preventive consumer protection and actively communicating with the market."

Earlier, at the end of last year, the Financial Services Commission approved the budget and personnel expansion for the Financial Supervisory Service, through which the FSS recruited 80 additional personnel and established a Financial Data Office.

Meanwhile, before the meeting, Chairman Ko told reporters regarding the Osstem Implant embezzlement case, "Apart from judicial procedures, we will closely examine issues such as market disruption in the stock market, investor protection, and minority shareholder matters," adding, "If necessary measures are required, we will consider them as well."

Regarding criticism that the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) failed to detect suspicious transactions in advance, he said, "The FIU analyzes information reported by financial companies and passes it on to investigative agencies," and refrained from elaborating, citing current laws.

On the extension of loan maturities for small business owners and SMEs affected by COVID-19, which is set to end at the end of March, he explained, "This is part of the three major financial stability tasks, and we are conducting a thorough analysis," adding, "We will closely communicate with the FSS and cooperate more with financial companies to understand the current situation and review measures considering COVID-19 and the real economy."

Regarding the early tightening stance of the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed), he stated, "We intend to monitor the impact on us going forward," and "If necessary, we will respond according to contingency plans." He added, "In fact, opinions that the normalization of U.S. monetary policy could accelerate more than expected have been continuously emerging, so we have argued that efforts to preemptively alleviate financial imbalances are necessary," concluding, "We will continue to actively respond from that perspective."

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