Financial Services Commission to Be Dissolved After 17 Years, Financial Supervisory Commission Revived (Updated)

Financial Services Commission to Be Dissolved After 17 Years
Key Financial Policy Functions Transferred to Ministry of Economy and Finance
New Financial Supervisory Commission and Financial Consumer Protection Agency to Be Established

The Financial Services Commission, which has overseen domestic financial policy, will disappear into history. The domestic financial policy functions previously handled by the Financial Services Commission will be transferred to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, which will be separated from the Ministry of Strategy and Finance. Supervisory functions will be assigned to the newly established Financial Supervisory Commission. The Financial Consumer Protection Bureau, which was under the Financial Supervisory Service, will be separated and reestablished as the Financial Consumer Protection Agency.

On the afternoon of September 7, the Presidential Office, the ruling party, and the government held a high-level party-government meeting at the Prime Minister's official residence in Seoul and announced this government organization restructuring plan.

The core of the announcement is the separation of the Ministry of Strategy and Finance and the dissolution of the Financial Services Commission. The ruling party and the government decided to separate the budget function from the Ministry of Strategy and Finance and establish it as an independent Budget Office. The Ministry of Strategy and Finance will be reorganized into the Ministry of Economy and Finance, which will take over the domestic financial policy functions from the Financial Services Commission. The Financial Services Commission will be renamed the Financial Supervisory Commission and will be responsible for financial supervision and consumer protection.

The Financial Consumer Protection Bureau, which is currently under the Financial Supervisory Service, will be separated and established as the Financial Consumer Protection Agency. This organization will be dedicated to financial consumer protection, a policy priority continuously emphasized by the Lee Jaemyung administration.

The Democratic Party of Korea plans to process the amendment to the Government Organization Act, reflecting these changes, at the National Assembly plenary session on September 25. If the amendment passes the National Assembly, the Financial Services Commission, established in 2008, will be dissolved after 17 years. Subsequently, government organizations responsible for the financial sector will be divided into four entities: the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Financial Supervisory Commission, the Financial Supervisory Service, and the Financial Consumer Protection Agency.