Fintech 'Regulatory Shackles' to Be Released... Jeong Eun-bo: "Restrictions on Financial Firms' Investment Targets Will Be Lifted"

Financial Supervisory Service-Fintech Industry Meeting Held

Jeong Eun-bo, Governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, is delivering opening remarks at the 'Accounting Firm CEO Meeting' held on the 14th at the Kensington Hotel in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Jin-ho Kim] Financial authorities are pushing for the enactment of the 'Fintech Promotion Support Act' to encourage financial companies to invest in fintech firms. The aim is to improve restrictions on investment targets and approval procedures. This signifies an intention to unlock the barriers hindering fintech development.

According to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) on the 20th, FSS Governor Eun-bo Jung held a meeting with the fintech industry and announced this plan. Governor Jung said, "To promote financial companies' investment in fintech firms, we will push for the enactment of the ‘Fintech Promotion Support Act’ to improve restrictions on investment targets and approval procedures."

He added, "In the era of digital transformation, the development of fintech is no longer optional but an essential task for financial industry innovation," emphasizing, "We will continue to balance support for innovative growth with consumer protection."

Governor Jung stated, "As industrial structures become digitalized with AI, big data, and other technologies, South Korea's financial industry is also at the center of change," and said, "For the fintech industry to leap forward, new technologies and players must smoothly enter the market and lead innovation through fair competition."

At the meeting, the FSS announced an innovation support strategy tailored to each stage of company development?from startup to growth to maturity?to foster a healthy fintech ecosystem.

First, they pledged to build a startup environment where prospective entrepreneurs and startups can confidently take their first steps.

Specifically, they plan to actively participate in operating the Seoul Fintech Academy to cultivate fintech talent. They emphasized efforts to actively operate the regulatory sandbox system to ensure that innovative financial businesses are smoothly provided with workspaces, equipment, and testing costs. They also plan to reactivate the fintech field advisory group’s consulting, which had been subdued due to COVID-19.

To support growth, they intend to newly establish a ‘Youth Startup Support Fund’ through the Korea Development Bank and Growth Finance to strengthen funding support for promising startups. Through the ‘D-Testbed,’ they will verify the feasibility of new technologies and, if safety and effectiveness are proven, revise regulations accordingly.

Finally, they emphasized creating a corporate environment where mature fintech companies can be fairly rewarded for their innovation achievements and can re-challenge. They plan to significantly improve the KOSDAQ market’s transfer listing system so that the KONEX market fully functions as a funding channel for innovative companies and will actively cooperate with related organizations to ease the burden of maintaining listings for companies.