Lee Bok-hyun, Financial Supervisory Service Chief, Urges Regional Banks to "Provide More Support to Small Business Owners"

Financial Supervisory Service Chief to Visit Jeonju Jeonbuk Bank on 26th
Meeting Local Small Business Owners to Hear Their Difficulties
"FSS Will Actively Support Financial Sector's Efforts"

Lee Bok-hyun, Governor of the Financial Supervisory Service. / Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-seop] Lee Bok-hyun, Governor of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), urged regional financial institutions, following major banks, to ease the burden on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and small business owners. He emphasized that the government’s financial support measures will be implemented without any setbacks.

On the 26th, Governor Lee held a meeting with local SMEs and small business owners at the Jeonbuk Bank headquarters in Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do, and requested, “Please further develop the excellent support programs that Jeonbuk Bank is providing to assist local small business owners.” He added, “Recently, the financial sector has been showing active efforts by preparing new support measures for vulnerable borrowers, and the FSS will actively support these efforts.”

Since his inauguration, Governor Lee has consistently expressed the position that private banks should support small business owners. On the 14th, he visited Shinhan Bank Namdaemun Branch in Jung-gu, Seoul, and evaluated, “It is very meaningful that the financial sector is making active efforts autonomously to protect vulnerable borrowers and alleviate their burdens beyond government-level measures.” The following day, he attended an executive meeting and stated, “The financial sector needs to make various autonomous efforts to protect vulnerable borrowers in addition to government-level measures.”

Regarding concerns that SMEs and small business owners are facing increasing difficulties due to high interest rates and high inflation, Governor Lee said, “I feel sorry about this.” He explained, “We will strive to ensure the smooth implementation of government measures such as financial sector livelihood support plans. The FSS is working to strengthen support for SMEs and small business owners by revitalizing existing financial sector support systems, such as the banks’ own pre-workout program, Individual Business Loan 119.”

After the meeting, Governor Lee moved to Sinjungang Market in Jeonju City and personally distributed leaflets to merchants and residents to prevent voice phishing and illegal private loan damages. He said, “There are continuous occurrences of face-to-face fraud phishing targeting vulnerable groups, illegal debt collection, and illegal private loans with high interest rates. Please be especially cautious.”

He also visited the ‘Financial Love Room Bus,’ which provides financial counseling nearby, and encouraged, “We will spare no support to ensure that more consumers receive this information.”

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