FSS Holds Communication Event 'FSS SPEAK' for Foreign Financial Firms... Lee Bok-hyun "Supporting Financial Stability"

Emphasizing Financial Consumer Protection and Proactive Response to Potential Risks

The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) announced on the 27th that it held a communication event with foreign financial companies called 'FSS SPEAK 2025.' At the event, the supervisory and inspection directions for foreign financial companies this year were explained.

Officials participating in 'FSS SPEAKS 2025' held by the Financial Supervisory Service on the 27th at the Korea Economic Association in Yeouido, Seoul, are taking a commemorative photo.
From the front row, left to right: Sean Blackley, Chairman of the British Chamber of Commerce; Wang Qilin, Economic Counselor of the Chinese Embassy; Pieter van der Fleet, Ambassador of the Netherlands; Eric Teo, Ambassador of Singapore; Colin Crooks, Ambassador of the United Kingdom; Lee Bok-hyun, Governor of the Financial Supervisory Service; Mizushima Koichi, Ambassador of Japan; Dagmar Schmidt Tartally, Ambassador of Switzerland; Emilia Gatto, Ambassador of Italy; Philip van Hoof, Chairman of the European Chamber of Commerce; Ian Wong, Overseas Business Representative of Dahua Bank Group; Song Young-rok, CEO of MetLife. Photo by Financial Supervisory Service.

On the morning of the same day, the FSS held the event at the Korea Economic Association Conference Center in Yeouido, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. About 230 people attended, including executives and employees of foreign financial companies, foreign diplomatic envoys in Korea, representatives from the Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Financial Services Commission, Seoul Metropolitan Government, and other related organizations. The event was held under the theme "The Path to Shared Growth through Financial Stability."

Lee Bok-hyun, Governor of the FSS, said, "Currently, our economy and financial markets are surrounded by complex uncertainties, raising concerns about downside risks to the domestic economy and increased market volatility. The FSS will focus on preparing for internal and external uncertainties based on a robust financial system and creating a virtuous cycle structure where the financial industry grows together with the people."

The Governor stated that they will proactively respond to financial market instability factors such as stable household debt management, objective evaluation of real estate project financing (PF) feasibility, and soundness management of financial companies.

He expressed a commitment to consistently pursue efforts to advance the capital market, including the establishment of a multiple market system following the launch of alternative trading platforms and the smooth resumption of short selling. He also said they will actively support digital innovation in the financial sector by establishing a balanced digital regulatory framework.

Colin Crooks, British Ambassador, said, "The UK is implementing various policies to enhance the competitiveness of the financial industry and hopes to continue the cooperative relationship with Korea in the future."

Koichi Mizushima, Japanese Ambassador, mentioned, "On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the normalization of Korea-Japan diplomatic relations, we expect the close cooperative relationship between the two countries to continue expanding not only in political and economic fields but also in financial supervision."

Eric Teo, Singaporean Ambassador, said, "The Monetary Authority of Singapore and the FSS are closely cooperating on global supervisory issues and the growth of financial companies," adding, "We are playing a key role in maintaining a stable financial system."

In the keynote presentation, John Zhu, Chief Economist for Asia-Pacific at Swiss Re, presented the 'Global Economic Outlook for 2025' via video from Hong Kong.

He forecasted that emerging Asian countries (excluding China) will maintain a growth rate in the 5% range.

He anticipated that the impact of U.S. tariff policies and China's countermeasures on the global economy will vary by country. He noted that U.S. tariff imposition could act as an inflationary factor, making the possibility of stagflation not dismissible.

He diagnosed that Asian countries might experience downward pressure on prices due to China's diversification of export destinations and redistribution of idle facilities.

Lee Chang-gyu, Director of the Planning and Coordination Bureau at the FSS, explained the '2025 Financial Market Environment Changes and Financial Supervision and Inspection Directions.'

He mentioned recent supervisory environments such as increased financial market volatility due to macroeconomic uncertainties and decreased trust in the financial industry caused by occurrences of mis-selling.

He explained the five major strategic goals of financial supervision?stability, trust, coexistence, future, and reform?along with 14 core tasks and this year's inspection operation principles. The principles include preventing financial consumer damage, preemptively responding to potential risks, and establishing market order.

Wi Choong-gi, Director General of Digital Finance at the FSS, presented 'Digital Finance Trends and Supervisory Directions.' He introduced the newly established digital and IT organization and its goals. He outlined supervisory directions in four areas: innovative finance, financial IT, electronic finance, and virtual assets.

The FSS stated, "We will actively reflect the difficulties and suggestions raised by foreign financial companies in financial supervision, inspection, and financial hub development tasks," adding, "We plan to continue communicating with foreign financial companies through various channels such as meetings and briefings on major issues in the future."

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