[Initial Insight] Revisiting the President's Financial Pledge

It has changed too much. This is about President Yoon Seok-yeol's campaign promise, the 'Youth Leap Account.' Comparing the press release President Yoon announced as a candidate last March with the Financial Services Commission's interim report released last week, it is hard to believe they are the same policy. The original goal of 'making 100 million won in 10 years' was changed to 'saving 50 million won in 5 years' considering the presidential term, which could be understandable since the time was halved and so was the amount.

The most noticeable change is that government subsidies have shrunk to a pittance. The campaign materials stated that for youths earning less than 24 million won annually, if they saved 700,000 won monthly, the government would provide subsidies up to 400,000 won, provided the individual saved at least 300,000 won. The intention was to support youths earning less than 2 million won a month who could not afford a 700,000 won monthly savings plan by topping up subsidies. However, due to limited budget, the subsidy of 400,000 won was drastically reduced to 24,000 won per year within a year. With such a significant decrease in subsidies, it is uncertain how many low-income youths will be able to save 50 million won over 5 years. The policy is likely to remain only a superficial 'leap.'

The national agenda also abruptly stalled. This was due to the 'bank bashing' that started in February. Originally, the Financial Services Commission planned to announce a regulatory reform to ease the separation between finance and industry (금산분리) by allowing banks to enter non-financial sectors by the end of last month. This was in line with the 'Activation of convergence between financial and non-financial sectors: improvement of financial company business scope regulations' on page 71 of the 110 national agenda items. However, after President Yoon criticized the 'bank money feast,' this plan suddenly disappeared. As banks, which made record profits from interest business, became public enemies, the atmosphere changed 180 degrees. Now, the policy is moving in the opposite direction of the national agenda. The Financial Services Commission is trying to open the door for non-bank entities such as big tech, fintech, card companies, and insurance companies to perform banking operations to break the banks' oligopoly.

The hidden background of these cases is votes. A senior official who participated in President Yoon's campaign said, "In the end, whether a campaign promise is fulfilled or not is decided by 'how many votes it can get.'" Whether it can be realized later is not a consideration. The Youth Leap Account has become distorted between a fantasy promise and practical feasibility. The easing of the separation between finance and industry, which was said to be a direction suitable for the Big Blur era, can only be seen as having been pushed aside by national approval ratings. In fact, after President Yoon targeted banks, loan interest rates dropped and his approval ratings rebounded. Bank interest is an issue that affects the interests of a large portion of the public. "Isn't popular support more important than financial regulation reform right now?" and "Once the president's remarks became the priority, the Financial Services Commission's will to ease the separation between finance and industry dropped significantly," said senior government officials, and their words cannot be ignored.

Promises made to the public must be made on the premise of taking responsibility. Otherwise, no matter how good the promise is, it is populism. Postponing policies deemed necessary is equally irresponsible. That is why the media must often revisit past records. To stop attitudes like 'They didn't keep it (or couldn't keep it). So what?' from prevailing.