Chairman Kim Byoung Hwan of the Financial Services Commission visited Boston and New York, the United States on April 21-22. On April 21, Chairman Kim visited Boston’s biotech cluster and held a meeting with the investment companies and Korean biotech firms operating in the U.S. to seek insights on ways to bring about regulatory improvements to promote Korea’s biotech venture investment. On April 22, Chairman Kim visited New York and had meetings with Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman and Korean financial companies that have established business operations in New York.
Visit to Boston
Visit to KHIDI’s U.S. Office
On April 21, Chairman Kim visited the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI)’s U.S. office in Boston to gain overall insights into the region’s biotech cluster (Kendall Square, aka “the most innovative square mile on the planet”), which is the world’s largest biotech venture ecosystem hosting more than a thousand biotech companies, research institutions, hospitals, and universities. During his visit, Chairman Kim was also briefed about Korean biotech companies operating in the U.S. and the support made available by the KHIDI.
Meeting with Venture Capital Investors
Chairman Kim held a meeting with a group of Korean venture capitalists operating in Boston’s biotech cluster to seek diverse opinions and gain insights on ways to cultivate a biotech venture investment ecosystem in Korea. At the meeting, Chairman Kim said that Korea’s venture investment has declined after reaching a peak in 2021-2022, particularly in the biotech sector associated with high risks where long-term investments are required. Since investors may face difficulties in making an exit in the biotech industry, Chairman Kim said that there are concerns over a potential fall in the biotech venture ecosystem. In this regard, Chairman Kim sought diverse recommendations and opinions from participants that will help to foster a biotech venture ecosystem in Korea.
Visit to AVEO Oncology
Chairman Kim visited AVEO Oncology, a U.S.-based biopharmaceutical company owned by LG Chem, and held talks on policy tasks to more effectively support Korea’s biotech venture ecosystem.
After visiting Boston’s biotech cluster and having meetings with related businesses, Chairman Kim said that he was able to gain valuable insights into the region’s venture investment environment and experience the dynamism on the ground. To promote venture investment in Korea, Chairman Kim said that the government will work to ensure an injection of sufficient level of public sector capital in high-tech strategic industries and facilitate private sector investment through the establishment of an infrastructure enabling the dissemination and sharing of relevant information for investment. Due to high level of uncertainties and the long-term tendency of making an exit in the biotech industry, Chairman Kim said that investors should make investments based on their own expertise and in accordance with specific characteristics of funds and growth stages. In this regard, Chairman Kim pledged that the government will provide support for creating a close-knit network of professionals to bolster capacities and boost synergy.
Visit to New York
Meeting with Chairman and CEO of Blackstone
On April 22, Chairman Kim visited Blackstone, the world’s largest alternative asset management company, and met with its Chairman and CEO Stephen Schwarzman. At the meeting, both sides shared a common view on the significant impact of U.S. reciprocal tariffs and other countries’ countermeasures on the global financial markets and the continuing uncertainties in the future. Despite uncertainties at home and abroad, Chairman Kim said that the Korean financial markets have stayed on a stable path and the government has been making efforts in response to the changing trade environment. In this regard, both sides agreed on the need to maintain close cooperation between the two countries. Speaking about recent political uncertainty in Korea, Chairman Kim explained that the Korean democratic process rooted in its constitutional principles and procedures has been at work to resolve these uncertainties, and said that this again demonstrates the maturity and resilience of Korea’s democracy. Despite these uncertainties, Chairman Kim said that the Korean government has been implementing capital market reform agendas in a consistent and unwavering manner by boosting access to foreign exchange and capital markets, reinstating the short sale practice, and pushing on with the corporate value-up program. In this regard, Chairman Kim explained one of the government’s policies announced earlier this year intended to help remove uncertainties regarding the sales of funds by global asset management companies and promote their entry in the domestic market. Following a period of preparation, Chairman Kim said that the application process has opened in April and that this will help to propel the entry of more global asset management companies into Korea.
Meeting with Korean Financial Companies Doing Business in New York
Chairman Kim had a meeting with officials from Korean financial companies that have established local offices in New York. At the meeting, Chairman Kim and the participants held talks on the challenges and difficulties arising from different legal and regulatory frameworks in their U.S. operations and the rapidly changing business environment since the inauguration of the Trump administration. In this regard, Chairman Kim said that the government will work to strengthen financial cooperation and maintain close communication with the U.S. financial authorities to help address the challenges facing Korean financial companies’ overseas operations. Along this line, Chairman Kim said that the government will continue to seek regulatory improvements to actively support Korean financial companies’ overseas operations. In this regard, the redundant and repetitive reporting requirements previously imposed by multiple regulations on financial companies’ overseas direct investment has been already lifted in December 2023 through a revision of relevant regulation on financial companies’ overseas business expansion. However, financial companies largely remain unaware of this change and continue to practice duplicate reporting. Thus, the FSC has been making efforts to make sure that financial companies become aware of this change through dissemination of information via relevant industry groups.
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