Jeong Eun-bo, Financial Supervisory Service Chief, "Focus on Internal Control Investigation Related to Woori Bank Embezzlement"

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Hwajeong] Jeong Eun-bo, Governor of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), emphasized that he is focusing on internal control issues related to the Woori Bank embezzlement case and will concentrate efforts on necessary institutional improvements.

Governor Jeong made these remarks on the 18th after attending the '2022 Financial Supervisory Advisory Committee General Meeting' held at the Bankers' Hall, speaking with reporters.

Governor Jeong stated, "First, considering the embezzlement scale is very large and it went unnoticed for over ten years, not only the financial company that should operate internal controls but also the accounting firms conducting external audits and the FSS responsible for supervision should have examined the situation more carefully. Currently, the inspection period for Woori Bank has been extended and is ongoing, and during this process, additional embezzlement facts have been confirmed, cooperating with investigative authorities." He added, "Above all, we are focusing on internal control issues regarding why such matters were not detected and managed for a long time, and as the supervisory authority, we will concentrate efforts on improving necessary institutional reforms."

Regarding the investigation results on Woori Bank so far, he said, "It is still a situation where further investigation into factual and institutional aspects is needed," adding, "It is difficult to comment prematurely when these parts have not been sufficiently investigated."

On recent economic uncertainties, Governor Jeong emphasized, "We need to consider liquidity management and the issue of non-performing assets. Liquidity may have short- and long-term mismatches, and for countries like ours that use local currency, managing foreign currency liquidity is important." He continued, "Regarding non-performing assets, proactive efforts such as sufficiently building reserves are necessary. Individual financial companies will manage based on their own judgment, but the financial authorities must guide financial companies from a crisis management perspective on areas that individual companies might overlook."