[1mm Financial Talk] Debate Surrounding Lee Bok-hyun, Financial Supervisory Service Chief's Trip to Southeast Asia

Lee Bok-hyun, Governor of the Financial Supervisory Service

"Is it appropriate for the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) Governor to go on an overseas business trip amid the nationwide chaos caused by the Soci?t? G?n?rale (SG) Securities stock manipulation scandal?" On the afternoon of the 11th, a heated debate broke out early in the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee plenary session over Governor Lee Bok-hyun's business trip to Southeast Asia.

Since the 8th, Governor Lee has been visiting three Southeast Asian countries?Singapore, Indonesia, and Thailand?meeting with senior officials of each country's financial authorities and attending investor relations (IR) presentations. Accompanying him on this trip were CEOs of six financial companies, including KB Financial Group Chairman Yoon Jong-kyu, Hana Financial Group Chairman Ham Young-joo, Mirae Asset Securities Chairman Choi Hyun-man, Korea Investment & Securities President Jung Il-moon, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance President Hong Won-hak, and Korean Re President Won Jong-gyu.

Criticism of Governor Lee's trip continued, especially from opposition parties. Park Jae-ho, a member of the Democratic Party, said, "Financial companies can go abroad to promote their own firms, but it is hard to understand why the FSS Governor would travel overseas with the financial companies he supervises." Oh Ki-hyung, also from the Democratic Party, stated, "The stock manipulation is a major incident involving over 8 trillion won, and it is appropriate for the FSS Governor to attend the Legislation and Judiciary Committee meeting," adding, "From the perspective of the person responsible for enforcing supervisory functions, the Governor traveling with holding company or financial company representatives can cause misunderstandings." Kim Jong-min, another Democratic Party member, added, "If such an incident occurred, the schedule should have been canceled or the Governor should have returned quickly."

In fact, there are some in the financial sector who find Governor Lee's overseas trip somewhat puzzling. Although the FSS holds overseas IR events, it is rare for the Governor to attend in person. According to the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, this is only the second time the Governor has participated in an overseas IR event. Moreover, there is a view that Governor Lee's 'broad-spectrum activities,' amid persistent rumors of his candidacy for the general election, cannot be seen purely. A financial sector official who worked at an overseas branch said, "It can be viewed positively, but the overseas investment environment is unlikely to change drastically just because domestic financial authorities take action," adding, "Isn't this just an extension of his broad-spectrum activities like visiting banks?"

However, there was also a rebuttal that Governor Lee's direct involvement in efforts to improve the financial investment environment should not be criticized outright. Song Seok-jun, a member of the People Power Party, responded to opposition lawmakers' criticisms by saying, "Please refrain from nitpicking efforts to improve the financial environment, which is not a pleasure trip." Yoon Han-hong, also from the People Power Party, said, "The trip was scheduled much earlier, so the plan could not be changed."