[Exclusive] Lee Bok-hyun, Financial Supervisory Service Chief, Gives Value-Up Lecture to Samsung and Other Large Corporations

Mid-May Lecture on Value-Up and PF Themes for KCCI Financial Industry Committee and Large Corporations
Collecting Corporate Opinions Before May Guideline Announcement

Lee Bok-hyun, Governor of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), will give a lecture around the 15th of this month to the Financial Industry Committee of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) and CEOs of major domestic conglomerates such as Samsung and LG on the 'Corporate Value-Up Program.' This is the first time Governor Lee has introduced the key contents of the Value-Up Program to major domestic conglomerates including Samsung. The KCCI, one of the four major economic organizations in Korea, appears to have arranged this event to hear voices from the financial industry and companies ahead of the May announcement of the Corporate Value-Up Program guidelines.

The "Open Discussion with Individual Investors" event, hosted by the Financial Supervisory Service and the Korea Exchange, was held on the 13th at the Korea Economic Association in Yeouido, Seoul. Lee Bok-hyun, Governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, is delivering the opening remarks. During the discussion, various opinions were exchanged on topics including the computerization of short selling and other issues related to the Korean stock market. Photo by Heo Young-han younghan@

According to industry sources on the 2nd, Governor Lee of the FSS will introduce the overall contents and direction of the Value-Up Program to the Financial Industry Committee under the KCCI and CEOs of member companies such as Samsung at the KCCI around the 15th to 16th of this month. This lecture was arranged at the request of the KCCI, and the exact date is expected to be confirmed as early as this week.

The Financial Industry Committee is one of the 13 committees under the KCCI, established in 2007 to serve as a hub for industry on financial issues. Currently, 48 entities including domestic financial holding companies and securities firms are members, and Choi Hyun-man, former chairman of Mirae Asset Securities, serves as the committee chairman.

In addition to the Financial Industry Committee, major domestic conglomerates such as Samsung and LG are also expected to attend this lecture. After the KCCI lecture, the FSS is also reported to hold a meeting with activist funds. This move is interpreted as an effort to first meet with business leaders to convey the purpose and contents of the Value-Up Program and gather opinions from companies before the guideline announcement, in line with the current administration’s pro-business stance. The Korea Exchange will make the final announcement of the Corporate Value-Up Program aimed at resolving undervaluation of listed companies in May.

A senior official from the FSS said, "There is a quarterly lecture held at the KCCI, and this time the FSS received a request to give a lecture related to the Value-Up Program," adding, "It is intended to collect opinions from companies before the Value-Up guideline announcement and to create a business-friendly environment emphasized by the current government."

This aligns with President Yoon Suk-yeol’s statement on the 20th of last month when he met with business leaders and said, "We will work together to make Korea the best country to do business and the country where entrepreneurs are most respected." Since Governor Lee himself will introduce the Value-Up Program, attention is also focused on whether the heads of the four major conglomerates, including Samsung Group Chairman Lee Jae-yong, will attend. The KCCI is currently surveying the attendance of the target companies.

Another topic of this lecture is project financing (PF). Recently, in the construction industry, concerns about a PF-related crisis have emerged after the corporate workout of Taeyoung Construction. The core of the 'crisis theory' is that after the general election, PF-related insolvencies forcibly suppressed by the government will surface, raising fears of a wave of bankruptcies in the construction industry. As the April crisis theory spread throughout the industry and market, Governor Lee held a meeting with the financial sector and construction industry at the Housing Construction Hall in Yeouido at the end of last month.

At this meeting, Governor Lee stated, "We will check whether financial companies are charging higher loan interest rates or fees from the construction industry under the pretext of extending real estate PF maturities," and mentioned that they are considering expanding the size of the financial sector’s normalization support fund targeting PF insolvent projects. Accordingly, since CEOs of major domestic banks and securities firms will attend the lecture scheduled for mid-month, it is expected that Governor Lee will request cooperation from the financial industry to dispel the PF crisis theory.

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