[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jihwan] The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) will hold disciplinary review committees for financial companies involved in the incomplete sales scandals of private equity funds such as Lime and Optimus until the first quarter of next year. Additionally, for major funds, dispute mediation will commence by the second quarter of next year, considering the scale of damages and the progress of inspections and sanctions.
According to the FSS on the 21st, sanctions against securities firms that sold Lime funds, including Shinhan Financial Investment, KB Securities, and Daishin Securities, have been decided at the disciplinary review, and procedures with the Securities and Futures Commission and the Financial Services Commission are underway. Inspections of selling banks have been ongoing since June, and most disciplinary reviews are scheduled to be held in the first quarter of next year.
Regarding Optimus Asset Management funds, the inspection of the selling securities firm NH Investment & Securities was completed in July. The disciplinary review is scheduled for February next year. Sanctions against Shinhan Financial Investment related to the German Heritage Fund were decided together with the Lime fund at the disciplinary review, and a disciplinary review for Hana Bank will be held in the second quarter of next year.
Industrial Bank of Korea, which sold the Discovery Fund, underwent inspection in July, and a disciplinary review will be held in January next year. Hana Bank, which sold both the Discovery Fund and the Italy Healthcare Fund, completed its inspection this month and will hold a disciplinary review in the second quarter of next year.
Dispute mediation will also proceed for each fund. The principle of dispute mediation requires that facts be confirmed through inspections and sanctions of the selling financial companies, and that damages can be objectively estimated. If the selling financial company agrees to a post-settlement method, rapid dispute mediation will be pursued based on the estimated damages.
KB Securities, the seller of the Lime fund, has agreed to compensation based on the post-settlement method. Accordingly, a dispute mediation committee will be convened by the end of this month. If Shinhan Financial Investment, Daishin Securities, Woori Bank, Shinhan Bank, Industrial Bank of Korea, Korea Development Bank, Busan Bank, and Hana Bank also agree to the post-settlement method, dispute mediation is expected to proceed sequentially in the first half of next year.
For the Optimus fund, legal review is underway to determine whether contracts can be canceled. Considering the review results comprehensively, dispute mediation will begin in the first quarter of next year. If Shinhan Financial Investment agrees to the post-settlement method for the German Heritage Fund, dispute mediation will proceed in the second quarter of next year.
For the Discovery and Italy Healthcare funds, facts will be confirmed through inspections and sanctions of Industrial Bank of Korea and Hana Bank, and if they agree to the post-settlement method, dispute mediation will take place in the second quarter of next year.
An FSS official emphasized, "We will confirm facts through inspections and sanctions for other funds as well," and added, "We plan to proceed with victim relief promptly in consultation with the selling financial companies."
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