[2022 National Audit] One in Four Employees at Financial Supervisory Service Taking Leave or Unreported

158 on Leave or Training... 367 Missing from Grade 3 or Above

One out of four employees at the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) is either on leave or working without an official position under a junior supervisor.

According to data received by Yoon Chang-hyun, a member of the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee from the People Power Party, from the FSS for the national audit on the 9th, the number of employees at the FSS as of the first quarter of this year was 2,176. Among them, 158 were without official positions due to leave or training, and 367 were unassigned employees, referring to those at grade 3 or above excluding department heads and team leaders. This means that 525 employees, accounting for 24.1% of the total staff, were either on leave or without an official position.

The unassigned employees due to training or leave included 62 in training and 96 on leave, totaling 158. Most of the 367 unassigned employees are senior investigators at grade 3, assigned to operational departments such as supervision and inspection bureaus, handling practical tasks.

While the number of employees at the FSS responsible for financial supervision and inspection has been increasing every year, the number of workers in the financial industry has been decreasing. The number of FSS employees rose from 1,653 in 2007 to 1,722 in 2012, 1,943 in 2017, and 2,176 in the first quarter of this year. In contrast, the number of financial industry workers decreased from 714,618 in 2019 to 709,281 in 2020, and 701,586 last year.

Rep. Yoon stated, "The large number of unassigned employees due to training, leave, and working under junior team leaders indicates an urgent need to improve manpower management at the FSS," adding, "Before reorganizing the structure, measures to optimize manpower management focusing on performance must be established."

Recently, as the average salary in the banking sector has surpassed 100 million won, offering better treatment than the FSS, the number of employees leaving the FSS has increased. The resignation figures of the FSS over the past five years show an increase from 22 in 2017, 34 in 2018, 32 in 2019, 45 in 2020, to 62 last year, with 53 employees leaving by September this year.

Among FSS executives and staff, 670 held stocks last year, with a total stock value of 22.3 billion won. The average holding per person was 33.4 million won. According to data received by Choi Seung-jae, a member of the People Power Party, from the FSS, the number of stockholders among FSS executives and staff has been increasing annually: 507 in 2017, 483 in 2018, 504 in 2019, and 587 in 2020.

Regarding violations of stock investment rules by FSS executives and staff, 77 cases were detected during an external audit in 2018. Subsequent internal audits by the FSS found 12 cases in 2019, 32 in 2020, 11 last year, and 23 up to the end of July this year. Most disciplinary actions for stock investment violations following internal audits were warnings or cautions, with only two cases resulting in salary reductions or reprimands.