Financial Authorities' Children Now... Studying Stocks Diligently Through Small Investments

[Asia Economy Reporter Ji Yeon-jin] It has been revealed that the children of senior financial regulators overseeing the capital market are studying economics through small-scale stock investments. The Financial Services Commission (FSC) noted that amid the nationwide stock investment boom triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, families of high-ranking officials also joined in investments, including public offerings.

According to this year's disclosure of assets by senior public officials released by the government on the 31st, Lee Se-hoon, Secretary General of the FSC, has his eldest son holding 140,000 KRW worth of listed stocks in Genwon Energy, Kakao, HumanN, and others. Stocks such as Samsung Electronics, Korea Electric Power Corporation, and Hanon Systems were sold within the past year. Kim Dong-hoe, Deputy Governor of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), also has his eldest and second daughters holding listed stocks worth approximately 2.68 million KRW and 990,000 KRW, respectively. The eldest daughter invested less than 10 shares each in DB Insurance, Meritz Securities, EcoPro, L&F, among others, while the second daughter purchased shares in SK Hynix, Samsung Electronics, and L&F. Deputy Governor Kim's spouse also holds 1 to 4 shares each in seven listed stocks, including 2 shares of SK iTechnology, which attracted significant attention last year as a record-breaking public offering. Regarding his family's stock investments, Deputy Governor Kim explained in the asset disclosure documents that the investments were made with small amounts of discretionary funds to enhance understanding and interest in the economy and financial markets, as well as to participate in public offering subscriptions. Lee Jin-seok, Deputy Governor of the FSS, has his eldest daughter acquiring fewer than 3 shares of overseas stocks such as Corning, Greico, and TSCM.

Senior public officials subject to asset disclosure can hold up to 30 million KRW worth of domestic listed stocks, including their families. However, the FSC recommends that officials at grade 4 and above refrain from domestic stock trading altogether, while the FSS restricts all employees to no more than 10 stock trades per quarter. Both the FSC and FSS allow trading of funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and overseas stocks. Kim Jeong-gak, Director of the FSC's Financial Intelligence Unit, has his spouse investing approximately 100 million KRW in domestic stocks through wrap products. Professor Kim Yong-jae of Korea University, who joined the FSC as a standing commissioner last year, reported owning 10 shares of the overseas stock Teladoc Health and 300 shares of the unlisted stock Haim Bio.

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