Opposition Grows Against Separation of Financial Consumer Protection Agency from FSS
"Splitting the Agency Would Undermine Consumer Protection," Employees Argue
Second Large-Scale Outdoor Protest in 17 Years Since 2008
On the 18th, members of the Financial Supervisory Service labor union shouted slogans at a rally opposing the separation of the Financial Consumer Protection Agency and the designation of the Financial Supervisory Service as a public institution, held in front of Yeouido National Assembly Station in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News
Employees of the Financial Supervisory Service have once again staged a large-scale outdoor protest in opposition to the ruling party and government's proposed organizational restructuring plan. The employees argue that if the Financial Consumer Protection Agency is separated from the Financial Supervisory Service as outlined in the plan, and both organizations are designated as public institutions, it would actually undermine financial consumer protection and cause significant harm to the public.
On the evening of the 24th, around 1,200 employees of the Financial Supervisory Service held an outdoor rally in front of the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, chanting slogans against the separation of the Financial Consumer Protection Agency and the designation of both organizations as public institutions. The employees had previously held a rally near the National Assembly on the 18th, making this their second large-scale outdoor protest.
Yoon Taewan, head of the Emergency Response Committee at the Financial Supervisory Service, stated, "At first glance, splitting the Financial Supervisory Service to create a new Financial Consumer Protection Agency and designating it as a public institution under the pretext of strengthening consumer protection may sound plausible. However, in reality, it is a dismantling of the organization to create new executive positions and high-ranking posts, and it will actually weaken the capacity to protect financial consumers, making the situation worse."
He emphasized, "We are not gathered here today to ask for a pay raise or to secure more benefits for ourselves. If the restructuring of the Financial Supervisory Service proceeds as currently proposed in the National Assembly, the comprehensive consumer protection system, which has been built over decades and integrates supervision, inspection, and consumer protection, will inevitably be dismantled, resulting in significant harm to consumers."
He continued, "In order to genuinely protect financial consumers and ensure the stability of South Korea's financial markets, attempts to split the Financial Supervisory Service and designate it as a public institution must be stopped."
Jeong Boseop, acting head of the Financial Supervisory Service labor union, also warned, "The government's plan to separate the Financial Consumer Protection Agency and designate it as a public institution will not only waste enormous amounts of time and administrative costs, but also threatens the independence of financial supervision work. In particular, it is likely to create confusion in handling public complaints from receipt to resolution." He further expressed concern that "if the Financial Supervisory Service is designated as a public institution, government intervention in budgeting, personnel, and management evaluation will lead to government-controlled finance."
An Jaehwan, a professor of business administration at Inha University who delivered a message of encouragement at the rally, stated, "Separating the financial policy function and transferring it to the newly established Ministry of Strategy and Finance, while having the ministry control the Financial Supervisory Service as a public institution, is a measure that seriously undermines the independence of financial supervisory agencies. As a result, even after the restructuring of the supervisory system, the Financial Supervisory Service will no longer be able to keep growth policies in check."
Professor An added, "The plan to establish the Financial Consumer Protection Agency by separating the Financial Consumer Protection Division from the Financial Supervisory Service will actually weaken consumer protection. A weakened supervisory body will not be able to adequately protect financial consumers from large financial institutions."
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