Lee Bok-hyun "Credit Industry Must Establish Its Own Crisis Response System"

Lee Bok-hyun, Governor of the Financial Supervisory Service

[Asia Economy Reporter Bu Aeri] Lee Bok-hyun, Governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, urged credit finance companies such as card and capital companies to "consider establishing their own crisis response systems."

Governor Lee made these remarks on the morning of the 17th at the Plaza Hotel in Seoul during a New Year's meeting hosted by the Credit Finance Association. The meeting was attended by 58 representatives from member companies of the Credit Finance Association, including Chung Tae-young, Vice Chairman of Hyundai Card and Hyundai Commercial.

At the meeting, Governor Lee stated, "Credit finance companies have a structural weakness due to their high dependence on market-based borrowing, making them vulnerable to financial market fluctuations," and added, "Please secure sufficient crisis response capabilities to proactively address liquidity risks and credit risks."

He expressed concern that "recently, some credit finance companies have reduced loan issuance to secure liquidity and manage risks, which may exacerbate difficulties for low-income and vulnerable groups," and requested, "Although this may conflict with what I mentioned earlier, I hope you will carefully consider ensuring that real demand customers who truly need financial support from the financial sector do not face difficulties in accessing funds."

Governor Lee also emphasized at the event, "We will carefully review the entire regulatory framework and work to eliminate regulatory arbitrage to create an environment where credit finance companies and big tech can compete fairly."

Meanwhile, Governor Lee has been actively communicating with top executives (CEOs) in the financial sector recently. On the afternoon of the same day, he held a luncheon meeting with three internet-only bank CEOs: Yoon Ho-young of KakaoBank, Seo Ho-sung of K Bank, and Hong Min-taek of Toss Bank. On the morning of the 18th, he is scheduled to hold a meeting with major commercial bank presidents at the Korea Federation of Banks.