8th Korea-Japan Financial Supervisory Regular Meeting Side Schedule
High-Level Talks with 3 Major Banks, Holding Companies, and Public Pensions
"Value-Up Disclosures of 92 Domestic Companies... Market Capitalization 34%"
Lee Bok-hyun, Governor of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), emphasized during high-level local meetings with Japan's three major banks, holding companies, and public pension funds that participation in value-up programs is rapidly increasing recently, especially among high-quality and large corporations.
During his trip on the 16th and 17th, Governor Lee met with the CEO of the MUFG Group, the presidents of SMBC and Mizuho Bank, and the CIO of GPIF (Government Pension Investment Fund) to hear the opinions of global financial companies on major financial issues commonly faced by both countries’ financial industries, such as policy changes following the inauguration of the Trump administration in the U.S., China's economic slowdown, and shifts in major countries' monetary policy stances. This schedule was reportedly arranged urgently at the request of the FSS amid the recent martial law and impeachment political situation, in addition to the regular meetings planned several months ago.
He then discussed the capital market advancement tasks that both Korea and Japan are focusing on, explaining the current status of policy implementation by Korean financial authorities to strengthen the role of capital markets, including value-up initiatives. He stated, "To systematically support and encourage corporate value-up efforts, we are strengthening market checks and balances through revisions to the Stewardship Code guidelines and improvements to the listing system. Additionally, various institutional improvements are being pursued to enhance shareholder value, such as the introduction of shareholder interest protection principles and improvements to the treasury stock system." According to the FSS, as of the 13th, 92 companies have disclosed plans to enhance corporate value, accounting for 34.1% of the domestic market capitalization.
Furthermore, he emphasized that Korea’s economic and financial system operates stably without being shaken by political turmoil, based on solid fundamentals. Although political uncertainties such as the recent martial law and impeachment situation temporarily increased financial market volatility and raised concerns about downside risks to the real economy, the government is actively responding to these downside risks through synergies created by an appropriate combination of fiscal, monetary, industrial, and financial policies at the whole-of-government level.
Meanwhile, through a meeting with the Chief Financial Officer of 'TSI Holdings,' a leading Japanese company in value-up initiatives, Governor Lee listened to cases of corporate value enhancement strategy execution and explored specific measures to increase the effectiveness of value-up policies, such as mid- to long-term growth and capital efficiency strategy disclosures and expanded communication with investors.
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