Financial Services Commission Extends Measures Including Optimus Business Suspension for 6 Months

Establishment of New Asset Management Company to Manage Optimus Fund Jointly Funded by Five Securities Firms

Civic groups including the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice and representatives of the Optimus Fund victims' association held a press conference on the 5th in front of the Financial Supervisory Service in Yeouido, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, urging the FSS to make a dispute resolution decision to cancel the Optimus contracts and fully refund the principal. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Ji Yeon-jin] The Financial Services Commission announced on the afternoon of the 24th that it held a regular meeting and decided to extend the suspension of business operations of Optimus Asset Management, the suspension of executive duties, and the appointment of the Financial Supervisory Service and the Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation as acting officers for six months.

Previously, the Financial Services Commission decided on the corrective measures against Optimus on June 30 last year and extended them once on December 22 last year. Through this second extension, they plan to secure the necessary period for investor protection measures such as fund transfer.

NH Investment & Securities, Hi Investment & Securities, Korea Investment & Securities, Cape Investment & Securities, and Daishin Securities, five securities firms that sold Optimus funds, have agreed to establish a new asset management company to take over and manage the Optimus funds through joint investment during this period.

Establishing the new asset management company will take about 3 to 4 months, and the return of investment funds by individual sales firms will proceed separately. When the sales firms return the principal investment, the amount recovered from the assets of the Optimus funds transferred to the new asset management company will be distributed to the sales firms that acquired the beneficiary certificates.

A Financial Services Commission official stated, "Since the fund management plan has been prepared, we will faithfully carry out necessary follow-up measures such as sanction procedures against Optimus Asset Management in the second half of the year."