Lee Chanjin: "FSS to Focus All Capabilities on Financial Consumer Protection" [2025 National Audit]

Lee Chanjin, Governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, Appears at National Assembly Audit
"We Will Completely Restructure the FSS to Protect Financial Consumers"

Lee Chanjin, Governor of the Financial Supervisory Service. Photo by Dongju Yoon

Lee Chanjin, Governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, stated that he would prioritize the protection of financial consumers above all else and focus all the agency's capabilities on this goal.

On October 21, during the National Policy Committee's audit at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, Governor Lee reported, "The Financial Supervisory Service has recently held a consumer protection resolution meeting and launched a task force dedicated to financial consumer protection, marking the start of a comprehensive reform effort to make consumer protection our top priority."

He added, "Through the operation of the financial consumer protection task force, we will swiftly identify consumer protection issues that the public can truly feel. The organization will be completely redesigned so that all the functions of the Financial Supervisory Service are utilized to achieve the goal of financial consumer protection."

Governor Lee also pledged to focus on establishing a fair financial paradigm for consumers. He explained, "We will prepare comprehensive improvement measures, including strengthening the independence of consumer protection officers and internal control committees within financial companies, as well as expanding personnel, to establish a management culture centered on consumer protection. We will continue to encourage the development of a mature consumer protection culture within financial companies, intensify the detection of unfair trading, and strictly crack down on unsound business practices."

He also vowed to thoroughly manage issues such as household debt and real estate loans, which have recently become problematic. Governor Lee stated, "We will promote the stable management of household debt by inspecting the implementation of household loan management plans at each bank, and ensure that debts within the financial sector are appropriately managed by encouraging improvements in the financial structures of vulnerable companies and industries." He continued, "We are also strengthening prudential supervision to ensure financial stability, such as by raising risk weights for real estate project financing loans and establishing an audit system for insurance liability assumptions."

Governor Lee promised efforts to revitalize the capital market as well. He emphasized, "By rationalizing capital regulations, we will alleviate the concentration of funds in real estate and guide the smooth supply of capital to productive sectors. Through the operation of a joint response team to eradicate stock price manipulation, we will swiftly detect and strictly punish large-scale stock price manipulation, making every effort to vitalize the capital market."

He also said, "Along with efforts to enact the second phase of virtual asset legislation, we will introduce additional self-regulation on business practices and disclosures to prevent gaps in user protection, thereby promoting the sound growth of the virtual asset market." Regarding the recent security breaches at financial institutions, he mentioned, "We will promptly identify the causes and establish measures to prevent recurrence, further strengthening IT security in the financial sector so that the public can conduct transactions with confidence."