Press Releases - Financial Services Commission

Press Releases

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Nov 14, 2025

Low-interest Loan Support Made Available for Debtors in Restructuring with 7-yr Plus Overdue Debts

The Financial Services Commission and the Credit Counseling and Recovery Service (CCRS) announced that a new low-interest loan support program (New Leap Loan) in the amount of KRW550 billion will be made available from November 14 to assist debtors already undergoing a restructuring process with 7-year or more overdue debts. The FSC held a meeting with the CCRS, six major banks, and Seoul Guarantee Insurance (SGI) on November 14 where the participating banks signed an MOU with the CCRS and SGI detailing their commitment to the New Leap Fund program. An initial announcement for this program was previously made on October 1 with the introduction of a new long-term debt restructuring program (New Leap Fund). The newly available low-interest loan support program (New Leap Loan) is intended to assist those who fall outside the coverage of the New Leap Fund program. More specifically, New Leap Loan will provide low-interest loans to those who have already entered into a debt restructuring process with 7-year or more overdue debts and have been making debt payments accordingly for at least six months. The maximum loan support available per individual will be KRW15 million at a lending rate of 3.0 percent to 4.0 percent annually. The total amount of support available for the program is KRW550 billion, and the program will be operated on a temporary basis for three years. Application is available from microfinance support centers across the country and on the website of the CCRS. Depending on individual circumstances, applicants may also be eligible to receive employment counseling and welfare assistance. At the same time, the CCRS will also make available a special debt restructuring support program for debtors with 5-year or more overdue debts who also fall outside the coverage of New Leap Fund. This will offer the same level of debt restructuring support made available by New Leap Fund, such as principal reduction of 30 percent to 80 percent, installment payments for maxi
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Nov 13, 2025

Household Loans, October 2025

In October 2025, the outstanding balance of household loans across all financial sectors increased KRW4.8 trillion (preliminary), rising at a faster pace compared with the previous month (up KRW1.1 trillion). (By Type) Home-backed mortgage loans rose KRW3.2 trillion, growing at a slower pace compared with the previous month (up KRW3.5 trillion). Banks (up KRW2.5 trillion up KRW2.1 trillion) saw the pace of growth decelerating, while nonbanks (up KRW1.1 trillion up KRW1.1 trillion) maintained a similar pace of growth from the previous month. Other types of loans edged back up KRW1.6 trillion from the decline of KRW2.4 trillion seen a month ago due mainly to the rise in credit loans (down KRW1.6 trillion up KRW0.9 trillion). (By Sector) In October 2025, household loans in the banking sector rose KRW3.5 trillion, growing at a faster pace compared with the previous month (up KRW1.9 trillion). Banks own mortgage loan products (up KRW1.4 trillion up KRW1.1 trillion) and policy-based loans (up KRW1.0 trillion up KRW0.9 trillion) both saw the pace of growth decelerating from a month ago. Other types of loans (down KRW0.5 trillion up KRW1.4 trillion) in the banking sector shifted back up from the decline seen in the previous month. In the nonbanking sector, household loans grew KRW1.3 trillion, turning back up from the decline of KRW0.8 trillion seen a month ago. Insurance companies (down KRW0.3 trillion up KRW0.1 trillion) and specialized credit finance businesses (down KRW1.1 trillion up KRW0.2 trillion) saw the volume of household loans shifting back up. Mutual finance businesses (up KRW1.0 trillion up KRW1.1 trillion) saw the pace of growth accelerating, while savings banks (down KRW0.5 trillion down KRW0.2 trillion) saw a slower pace of decline compared with the previous month. (Assessment) In October 2025 (up KRW4.8 trillion), the pace of household loan growth decelerated from the same month a year ago (up KRW6.5 trillion) but accelerated from the previous month (up KR
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Nov 04, 2025

Revised Rule Approved to Strengthen CDD Requirement on Specialized Credit Finance and Consumer Credit Businesses

The Financial Services Commission announced that the government approved a revision bill for the Enforcement Decree of the Special Act on the Prevention of Loss Caused by Telecommunications-based Financial Fraud and Refund for Loss (the Act hereinafter) at the cabinet meeting held on November 4. The revision intends to strengthen the responsibility of financial companies in the prevention of loss caused by financial frauds or vishing (voice phising) scams. Under the revised rule, specialized credit finance businesses (excluding the ones specialized in new tech financing) and consumer credit businesses that have KRW50 billion or more in assets will be newly subject to the customer due diligence (CDD) duty in their handling of loan services. This is a follow-up to the comprehensive measures for strengthening anti-vishing efforts introduced in March this year. In order to prevent loss caused by vishing scams and facilitate a quick recovery of the lost money, the Act prescribes rules on account freeze and restoration of lost money for victims, which have thus far been applied mainly to the account-issuing financial institutions, such as banks, savings banks, and mutual finance businesses. However, since there are cases where stolen personal information is being used by scammers to take out loans, the need to expand the application of CDD obligation to loan businesses, such as specialized credit finance businesses and consumer credit businesses, is growing in order to more effectively counter and prevent vishing scams. Therefore, pursuant to the revised rule, specialized credit finance businesses (excluding the ones specialized in new tech financing) and consumer credit businesses that have KRW50 billion or more in assets will need to conduct CDD in their handling of loan services (via telephone, mobile phone, face-to-face, video call, etc.). When found to be in violation of the CDD obligation, it may be possible to impose an administrative fine of up to KRW10 million an
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Oct 29, 2025

AI-based Anti-phishing Sharing and Analysis Platform (ASAP) Launched to Bolster Protection against Financial Scams

The Financial Services Commission held a meeting with related authorities and organizations, financial industry groups, and private sector experts on October 29 and announced the launching of AI-based Anti-phishing Sharing and Analysis Platform (ASAP). At the meeting, participants had in-depth discussions on the governments policy responses to more effectively prevent vishing scams. Anti-phishing Sharing and Analysis Platform (ASAP) Key Details With the launching of ASAP, all financial companies (about 130 entities) will be able to share and make use of vishing related data (9 types and 90 categories in total) on a real time basis. The nine different types of data subject to the sharing are as follows(a) information about victims account (14 categories), (b) information about the account used in vishing scam (18 categories), (c) information about the account suspected to be linked to vishing scam or victim (15 categories), (d) information about the overseas account verified to have been used in vishing scam (8 categories), (e) other types of information sought for investigation (12 categories), (f) information about fake IDs (8 categories), (g) information about the potential victim uncovered through police investigation (4 categories), (h) information about phishing sites (5 categories), and (i) information about malicious apps (6 categories). In particular, information about victims account, the account used in vishing scam, and the overseas account verified to have been used in vishing scam will be shared among all participating institutions on a real time basis to more proactively and quickly cut off criminal activities. The types of information about suspicious accounts deemed to have been involved in vishing scams (identified through financial companys fraud detection system) and other types of suspicious accounts having frequent transactions with the former, as well as the types of information about the suspicious transaction activities uncovered through poli
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Oct 28, 2025

2025 Korea Fintech Week Scheduled to Kick Off Nov 26 Focusing on Potential of AI and Personalization of Finance

The Financial Services Commission announced on October 28 that this years Korea Fintech Week is scheduled to kick off on November 26 for three days until November 28 at aT Center in Seoul. Joined by fintech businesses, financial companies, relevant organizations, and overseas governments and institutions, the three-day expo will be held under the theme of Fintech X AI: The Personalization of Finance to showcase the future trend of finance and new ecosystems fostered by the convergence of fintech and artificial intelligence (AI). The 2025 Korea Fintech Week will feature opening events, K-Fintech 30 selection ceremony, and a variety of seminars, side events, and experience programs. A total of 99 exhibition booths and 128 participating businesses and organizations will make this years fintech expo the largest ever in scale. Moreover, this year, a number of global unicorns will participate and national fintech pavilions will be set up. In addition, all seminar proceedings will be broadcast live (with interpretation in English) to make simultaneous participation from overseas possible and to more effectively promote Koreas fintech industry to global audiences. Opening events will start with a welcoming speech by FSC Chairman Lee Eog-weon and feature speeches by Israeli Ambassador to Korea Rafael Harpaz and Global Finance Technology Network (GFTN) CEO Sopnendu Mohanty. Following the opening events, the K-Fintech 30 Selection Ceremony will be held, designating 10 promising Korean fintech businesses to the list of K-Fintech 30 for this year. In the future, the selected entities will be able to receive support through policy funds, investment IR, and consulting for regulatory exemption. Exhibition halls will be organized into (a) fintech hall, (b) finance hall, (c) global hall, and (d) collaboration hall. A total of 128 businesses and organizations will showcase their products or services in 99 exhibition booths. This year, the size of global hall has been expanded signific
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Oct 22, 2025

Government Approves Capital Market Rule Changes to Strengthen Response against Unfair Trading Activities

The Financial Services Commission announced on October 22 that the government has approved regulatory changes regarding the Enforcement Decree of the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act (FSCMA) and subordinate regulations with aims to strengthen early response and bring more stern measures against unfair trading activities in capital markets. The revised Enforcement Decree will go into effect from October 28 and the subordinate regulations from October 22. Key Revision Details I. Establish a regulatory ground to upgrade KRXs surveillance system to make it more individually-focused (from account-based system previously) Under the current system, the KRX performs market surveillance based on accountsnot based on individualsas it is not authorized to make use of investors personal information. As such, the scope of surveillance remains too broad and it has been difficult to identify the activities linked to the same entity. Thus, this revision authorizes the KRXs market surveillance committeein its surveillance capacityto process investors personal data (resident registration number in pseudonymized form). Based on this, the KRX will be able to perform more individually-focused market surveillance. This transition from the current account-based to a more individual-centered approach will help to boost the efficiency in market surveillance as surveillance targets will be reduced by about 39 percent. Moreover, it will allow the authorities to more effectively and quickly find out and identify whether certain activities have been carried out by the same entity, what and how much role did the rule-breaker play in manipulating stock prices, and whether there was cross trading involved. This individual-centered market surveillance system at the KRX will begin to operate from October 28 after conducting a series of test operations with business members (57 securities firms in total). II. Strengthen the criteria for imposing penalty surcharges and introduce a
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Oct 22, 2025

Life Insurance Policyholders Will be Able to Convert Death Benefits into Lifetime Access in Retirement

The Financial Services Commission held a taskforce meeting on October 22 to have a final review of the preparatory work prior to the launch of the products enabling life insurance policyholders to have access to death benefits early in their retirement. From October 30, life insurance policyholders will be able to tap into death benefits as retirement income. On October 23, eligible policyholders will be contacted individually and receive notifications from the following five life insurance companiesSamsung, Hanwha, Kyobo, Shinhan Life, and KB Life. As of the end of September 2025, the total number of eligible life insurance contracts stood at 414,000 with about KRW23.1 trillion in benefits. By January 2, 2026, the rest of life insurers will follow suit and individually contact eligible policyholders for notification a week prior to the scheduled launch. This will bring up the total number of eligible life insurance contracts to 759,000 with the amount of benefits expanding to KRW35.4 trillion. Since the newly introduced products are intended for policyholders aged 55 years old and over, application will only be available face-to-face with tellers via customer service centers or branch offices. To make service experience more convenient, insurance companies will provide simulations and comparisons demonstrating individual customers expected amount of benefits based on the customers chosen ratio and period for converting death benefits into lifetime access. Since the amount of policyholders lifetime access is determined by the amount of paid-in policy premiums, more senior policyholders are expected to receive greater amounts in lifetime access. Thus, policyholders are advised to choose the starting point and the duration of conversion based on individual circumstances. During the lifetime access conversion period, policyholders may choose to suspend or opt out entirely from the program early, and can also choose to reenter the program thereafter. The government plan
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Oct 16, 2025

Household Loans, September 2025

In September 2025, the outstanding balance of household loans across all financial sectors increased KRW1.1 trillion (preliminary), rising at a slower pace compared with the previous month (up KRW4.7 trillion). (By Type) Home-backed mortgage loans went up KRW3.6 trillion, growing at a slower pace compared with the previous month (up KRW5.1 trillion). Banks (up KRW3.8 trillion up KRW2.5 trillion) and nonbanks (up KRW1.3 trillion up KRW1.1 trillion) both saw the pace of growth decelerating. Other types of loans dropped KRW2.4 trillion, declining at a faster pace compared with the previous month (down KRW0.4 trillion) with credit loans falling at an expanded pace (down KRW0.3 trillion down KRW1.6 trillion). (By Sector) In September 2025, household loans in the banking sector rose KRW2.0 trillion, slowing down from the growth of KRW4.1 trillion a month ago. Banks own mortgage loan products (up KRW2.7 trillion up KRW1.4 trillion) rose at a slower pace, while policy-based loans increased at a similar level from a month ago (up KRW1.1 trillion up KRW1.1 trillion). Other types of loans (up KRW0.3 trillion down KRW0.5 trillion) in the banking sector shifted back down from the growth seen a month ago. In the nonbanking sector, household loans edged down KRW0.9 trillion, shifting back down from the growth of KRW0.6 trillion in the previous month. Insurance companies (down KRW0.5 trillion down KRW0.2 trillion) saw the pace of decline decelerating, while specialized credit finance businesses (down KRW0.2 trillion down KRW1.1 trillion) saw the pace of decline accelerating. Mutual finance businesses (up KRW1.2 trillion up KRW0.9 trillion) saw the pace of growth slowing down, while savings banks (up KRW0.03 trillion down KRW0.5 trillion) saw a decline from the growth seen a month ago. (Assessment) In September (up KRW1.1 trillion), household loans grew at a notably slower pace compared with the previous month (up KRW4.7 trillion) and the same month a year ago (up KRW5.4 trillion).
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Oct 15, 2025

Authorities Unveil Measures to Bolster Management over Housing Loan Demand with Aims to Stabilize Housing Market

The Financial Services Commission held a meeting on household debt with officials from related ministries, financial institutions, and industry groups on October 15 and announced additional measures to strengthen household loan management for implementing the governments housing market stabilization plan. At the meeting, officials assessed that household debt growth has been largely stabilized since the introduction of June 27 household debt management measures. However, in certain districts of the Seoul metropolitan area, housing prices have continued to move upward. With expectations for rate cuts and continuation of brisk housing market conditions, it is concerning that the market overheating in certain areas may spread to other regions. As such, the financial authorities viewed that it is necessary to introduce additional measures to preemptively control demand for housing loans. Key Measures Applying Different Levels of Maximum Mortgage Loans Based on House Prices (Effective from Oct. 16) The maximum amount of mortgage loan a borrower is eligible to take out for purchasing a house in the Seoul metropolitan and speculation regulated areas will be determined differentially based on the price (market value) of house. For houses with market value of up to KRW1.5 billion, the maximum amount of mortgage loan will remain the same at the current level of KRW600 million. For houses priced at more than KRW1.5 billion and up to KRW2.5 billion, the maximum amount of mortgage loan will be reduced to KRW400 million from the current level of KRW600 million. For houses valued at over KRW2.5 billion, the maximum amount of mortgage loan will be reduced to KRW200 million from the current level of KRW600 million. The differentially determined cap on mortgage loans will help to more effectively control demand for purchasing highly priced homes in the Seoul metropolitan and speculation regulated areas using mortgage loans. Tightening Stressed DSR Rule (Effective from Oct. 16) The cu
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Oct 01, 2025

Rule Change on ESG Rating and Disclosure to Enhance Financial Risk Management Related to Industrial Accidents

The Financial Services Commission approved a revision to the Korea Exchange (KRX) disclosure rules on October 1 requiring listed companies to timely disclose information regarding the occurrence of industrial accidents to strengthen the management of financial risks associated with industrial accidents. The FSC also introduced a rule change proposal intended to strengthen the annual and semi-annual disclosure duties regarding the occurrence of industrial accidents. In addition, ESG rating institutions have made changes to their ESG rating guidance incorporating the occurrence of industrial accidents in the evaluation of corporate ESG practices. First, the revised ESG rating guidance incorporating industrial accidents into the evaluation of corporate ESG practices will take effect from October 1. Prior to this, socially controversial issues including the occurrence of industrial accidents were considered for evaluation by ESG rating institutions on a voluntary and non-binding basis. However, with the growing impact of industrial accidents on corporate valuations, it has become necessary to more closely manage this issue. As such, ESG rating institutions have made an update to their ESG rating guidance incorporating major controversial issues, such as industrial accidents, into the evaluation of corporate ESG practices, effective from October 1. Along this line, ESG rating institutions will also need to make efforts to enhance the quality and capacity in their rating services to more systematically reflect financial risks associated with industrial accidents and boost confidence on their ESG rating services. The KRX will regularly make comparison and assessment on ESG rating institutions compliance with the updated guidance. Second, listed companies will be subject to a timely disclosure of information regarding the occurrence of industrial accidents. Currently, listed companies are required to file KRX disclosures only when accruing a significant loss in properties o
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Oct 01, 2025

A New Long-term Debt Restructuring Program Launched to Assist Vulnerable Groups and Small Merchants

The Financial Services Commission and the Korea Asset Management Corporation (KAMCO) launched a new long-term debt restructuring program (New Leap Fund) intended to support small merchants and vulnerable groups on October 1. A Summary of FSC Chairmans Remarks FSC Chairman Lee Eog-weon attended the launching event and delivered congratulatory remarks, highlighting the significance of New Leap Fund as more than just a debt workout program. Vulnerable groups and small merchants have continued to suffer from increased debt payment challenges since the pandemic era. In this regard, Chairman Lee said that this program will provide a new foundation to leap forward for many of those who have not been able to engage in normal economic activities due to their delinquent debt status. To prevent moral hazard in the future, Chairman Lee said that authorities will make sure to carry out rigorous evaluations on debtors repayment capabilities. Chairman Lee also stated that authorities will work to expand support for those who have been diligently making debt payments but fall outside the qualification under this program, while continuing to work on providing more fundamental solutions that can help to resolve the problem of long-term debt delinquency. Further Plan The New Leap Fund program will start purchasing delinquent debts in October from the creditor institutions that have signed an agreement for about a year. From then, a rigorous examination of debtors wealth and income situations will be carried out before proceeding with the write-offor restructuringprocess from 2026. However, for those under the basic living welfare assistance program, a prompt write-off process will be made available in 2025 without examining debtors repayment capabilities. The total size of long-term delinquent debts qualified for support under this program is forecast to be about KRW16.4 trillion with about 1.134 million individuals receiving benefits. Since the program will directly purchase delinque
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Sep 30, 2025

KoFIU Unveils H1 2025 Survey Result on Virtual Asset Service Providers

The Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (KoFIU) conducted a survey on 25 registered virtual asset service providers (VASPs) to assess the current state of the domestic virtual asset market and keep relevant statistics up to date. Survey Overview (Respondents) 25 VASPs(17 exchange service providers and 8 custody and wallet service providers) (Survey Method) Data collected from VASPs (Period Covered) January 1, 2025 to June 30, 2025 Key Survey Findings for H1 2025 The price increases in virtual assets and expansion of market size observed into the second half of 2024 slowed down in the first half of 2025. Compared with the previous six-month period, the number of users eligible to trade (up 1.07 million or 11%) went up. However, average daily trading volume (down KRW0.9 trillion or 12%), total operating profits (down KRW134.8 billion or 18%), market capitalization (down KRW15.4 trillion or 14%), and total amount of deposits (down KRW4.5 trillion or 42%) all decreased. However, over the same six-month period, the coin-only exchange market saw growth in average daily trading volume (up KRW450 million or 286%) and market capitalization (up KRW366.5 billion or 298%), despite continuing market dominance by KRW-based exchange service providers. External transfers of virtual assets to the registered entities increased in terms of both travel rule transactions (up 4%) and to the whitelisted overseas entities and personal digital wallets (up 4%). The total size of virtual assets in custody and wallet services (down KRW0.7 trillion or 50%) declined significantly due to drops in base prices and their number of users (down 523 or 41%). * Please refer to the attached PDF for details.
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Sep 29, 2025

Credit Recovery Support Available from Today for Up to 3.7 Million Individuals and Individual Business Owners

The Financial Services Commission announced that the financial sector will make available credit recovery support in the form of expungement of overdue debt history from September 30. The credit recovery support is a one-off support program intended to help a quick recovery and return to normal economic activities for delinquent debtors who will have fully paid off their overdue debts by the end of December 2025. Individuals and individual business owners who have accrued overdue debts of up to KRW50 million (between January 2020 and August 2025) but have or will have fully paid off their overdue debts by the end of December 2025 will be eligible to receive this credit recovery support. About 2.95 million individuals and 748,000 individual business owners are expected to be eligible. As of the end of August 2025, about 2.45 million individuals (83%) and 128,000 individual business owners (17%) were found to have already paid off their debts in full. Some of the borrowers who had been excluded from previous credit recovery support (in 2021 and 2024) will be eligible to receive support this time (about 773,000 individuals and 399,000 individual business owners). Eligibility check is available from the websites of credit rating service providers. By checking eligibility, eligible debtors will automatically receive support without the need to submit application and their credit scores will automatically go up. As such, the credit recovery support is made available immediately from today for some 2.57 million debtors who have fully paid off their overdue debts. The rest (1.12 million) can also receive support upon fully paying off their overdue debts by the end of this year. The availability of credit recovery support will help to increase credit scores for both individuals (by about 40 points on average) and individual business owners (by about 31 points on average). Alongside the provision of credit recovery support, the FSC also plans to newly make available a long-te
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Sep 25, 2025

Capital Market Rule Change Proposed to Strengthen Treasury Stock Disclosure by Listed Companies

The Financial Services Commission issued a preliminary notice of rule changes regarding the Enforcement Decree of the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act (FSCMA) and subordinate regulations on September 25. The proposed rule changes are intended to strengthen the disclosure duty of listed companies with regard to their acquisition and disposal of treasury stocks to promote the use of treasury stocks for the purpose of enhancing shareholder value. The revision proposal will enter a 40-day public comment period from September 26 to November 5. In 2024, a relevant rule change was made requiring listed companies to disclose their treasury stock holding status and future plan when the proportion of treasury stock holding is five percent or more of the total volume of stocks issued. Since then, the volume of treasury stocks being acquired or cancelled has increased significantly. In 2025, the volume of treasury stocks that have been cancelled in the January-August period (KRW18.8 trillion) has already surpassed the level (KRW13.9 trillion) seen in the twelve-month period a year ago. However, additional rule changes are deemed to be necessary as some listed companies fail to indicate their treasury stock holding status or merely resort to perfunctory reporting practices. Thus, the proposed rule changes will strengthen relevant rules on the disclosure of treasury stocks and establish a regulatory ground to impose aggravated penalties for recurrent rule-breaking to help promote the use of treasury stocks for the purpose of enhancing shareholder value for ordinary shareholders. Key Revision Details First, when the proportion of treasury stock holding is one percent or more of the total volume of stocks issued, listed companies will be required to disclose their treasury stock holding status and future plan twice a year. Under the current rules, the minimum threshold is set at five percent of the total volume of stocks issued, and companies are subject to the
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Sep 23, 2025

FSC Holds Meeting on Strengthening Capacity and Resilience against Cyberattacks in Financial Sector

Vice Chairman Kwon Dae-young of the Financial Services Commission presided over a meeting with chief information security officers (CISOs) of financial companies representing all financial sectors to have discussions on ways to strengthen the capacity and resilience against cyberattacks in the financial sector on September 23. Todays meeting was held in the wake of recent cyber breaches targeted at the financial sector with the purpose of raising alertness and boosting response capabilities. A Summary of Vice Chairmans Opening Remarks The government and financial companies need to reassess the critical nature of cyber and information security in the financial sector to make it a top priority. First, in order to prevent cyber breaches targeting financial companies, which can inflict significant damages to consumers, the duty of ensuring information security and protection of customer data should be considered as a key management priority of financial companies under the responsibility and leadership of chief executives. In this regard, financial companies will need to step up efforts to strengthen the capacity and resilience against cyberattacks commensurate with the external growth shown in the financial sector. Second, financial companies should take proactive steps and go the extra mile to tightly inspect and operate their own cybersecurity systems and protocols. From the stage of designing and developing services and products, financial companies need to give top consideration for information security to ensure system stability and the establishment of a well-functioning cybersecurity system. When cyber breaches take place at financial companies due to their negligence or failure of properly operating a cybersecurity system, financial companies will be subject to strict investigation and sanctions. Third, as an essential element for preventing damages from cyberattacks and quickly resuming services thereafter, financial companies need to step up efforts to bolste
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Sep 19, 2025

FSC Holds Inaugural Meeting on Transforming Financial Industry for Productive Finance

Chairman Lee Eog-weon of the Financial Services Commission presided over the inaugural meeting on transforming the financial industry and seeking a transition toward productive finance on September 19. Todays meeting was joined by industry representatives from different regions and officials from different business sectors and sizes who shared their ideas and suggestions in collaborative efforts to seek growth in both the real economy and financial sectors. Key Measures I. Transforming Financial Industry for Productive Finance In his opening remarks, FSC Chairman Lee said that the Korean economy is currently standing at an inflection point where the role of finance is considered to be ever more critical in providing solutions to various problems, such as low growth and wealth gap, and rebooting growth in the economy. To seek a transition toward productive finance, Chairman Lee introduced plans to pursue transformation of the following three areaspolicy finance, financial business, and capital markets. (Policy Finance) Policy financial institutions will lead the channeling of capital toward high-tech and venture businesses and local economies. The KRW150 trillion National Growth Fund intended for future strategic industries and their supply chains and infrastructures will provide targeted investments. The role of policy financial institutions for providing guarantees on real estate financing will be downsized, while that for providing technology financing will be boosted. At the same time, policy financial institutions will develop region-specific financing models intended to spur growth of local economies. (Financial Business) By seeking improvements to the overall supervisory framework, specific sector-targeted transition measures will be pursued. In this regard, capital regulation in the banking and insurance sectors will be upgraded to bring them to more reasonable levels and to facilitate banks and insurance businesses to more actively supply capital to producti
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Sep 17, 2025

FSC Introduces Measures to Strengthen Management of Financial Risks Associated with Major Industrial Accidents

The Financial Services Commission introduced measures to strengthen the management of financial risks associated with major industrial accidents on September 17, which are part of the governments comprehensive plan for ensuring industrial safety announced earlier on September 15. The comprehensive plan to ensure industrial safety is aimed at providing structural solutions to the root cause of industrial accidents, and it includes financial sector measures including credit evaluation, assessment in capital markets, etc. In this regard, the FSC has prepared specific measures intended for all financial sectors, such as loans and insurance, policy financing, and disclosure and assessment in capital markets, and plans to carry out follow-up measures accordingly. As investors are becoming more interested and concerned about the risk of major industrial accidents, with the enhanced administrative and judicial measures in place, companies with a record of major industrial accident may face significant challenges in terms of their business operation and investment activities (e.g. stock prices falling). In this regard, the financial sector needs to take proactive steps to manage risks and protect investors in order to maintain the soundness. To ensure a systematic management of financial risks associated with major industrial accidents, the financial sector plans to strengthen rules over soundness management and introduce incentives for the prevention of industrial accidents. Summary of Key Measures Bank loan - Industrial accidents will be taken into account for credit evaluation purposes. - All banks will be subject to the same rules regarding the reduction and/or suspension of loan commitment (in the event of a major industrial accident). Project finance (PF) loan guarantee by Korea Housing Finance Corporation - Screening criteria to be strengthened for defective construction, safety accidents, etc. - Companies certified with outstanding safety management performance will
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Sep 10, 2025

Government Plans to Set Up National Growth Fund Worth KRW150 Trillion to Propel Economic Growth

The Financial Services Commission along with related government ministries, industry officials, and financial companies held a public conference on September 10 to seek ways to propel economic growth through the establishment and operation of National Growth Fund in the size of KRW150 trillion-plus for the next five years. At the conference, the FSC introduced plans to establish National Growth Fund and its operating strategies. Key Details of National Growth Fund (Background) The high-tech strategic industries, such as artificial intelligence (AI), biotech, and robotics, are critical industries that could serve as a game changer for the prosperity of future generations. In attempt to position themselves as the leader in global competition over high-tech industries, each country has rolled out plans to introduce significant investments and high level tariffs to gain competitive edge. From the construction of Gyeongbu Expressway, the shifting paradigm of economic development toward the heavy and chemical industries and export sectors, and the establishment of high-speed telecommunications network, the Korean economy had shown strategic determinations at major turning points in the past. However, amid low birth and aging population and deepening competition over key industries, the factors that have traditionally been driving economic growth are rapidly deteriorating recently with this years growth expectation forecast to be near zero percent. Against this backdrop, it is imperative to propel future growth prospects of the Korean economy by strategically selecting key megaprojects to support their growth in response to global competition over high-tech industries. (Purpose) National Growth Fund created in the amount of KRW150 trillion will function as a key foundation to propel Koreas economic growth through industrial restructuring. Over the next five years, KRW150 trillion worth of investments will be made in high-tech strategic industries and related ecosystems (va
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Sep 10, 2025

Household Loans, August 2025

In August 2025, the outstanding balance of household loans across all financial sectors increased KRW4.7 trillion (preliminary), rising at a faster pace compared with the previous month (up KRW2.3 trillion). (By Type) Home-backed mortgage loans increased KRW5.1 trillion, growing at a somewhat faster pace compared with the previous month (up KRW4.2 trillion). Banks (up KRW3.4 trillion up KRW3.9 trillion) and nonbanks (up KRW0.8 trillion up KRW1.3 trillion) both saw the pace of growth accelerating. Other types of loans dropped KRW0.4 trillion, declining at a slower pace compared with the previous month (down KRW1.9 trillion) as credit loans edged down at a slower pace (down KRW1.1 trillion down KRW0.3 trillion). (By Sector) In August 2025, household loans in the banking sector rose KRW4.2 trillion, growing at a faster pace compared with the previous month (up KRW2.8 trillion). Banks own mortgage loan products (up KRW2.2 trillion up KRW2.7 trillion) increased at an expanded level, while policy-based loans maintained a similar level of growth (up KRW1.2 trillion up KRW1.2 trillion). Other types of loans (down KRW0.6 trillion up KRW0.3 trillion) in the banking sector shifted back up from the decline a month ago. In the nonbanking sector, household loans grew KRW0.6 trillion, turning back up from the decline of KRW0.5 trillion in the previous month. Mutual finance businesses (up KRW0.4 trillion up KRW1.2 trillion) saw the pace of growth accelerating, while savings banks (down KRW0.3 trillion up KRW0.03 trillion) saw an increase from the decline a month ago. Insurance companies (down KRW0.4 trillion down KRW0.4 trillion) and specialized credit finance businesses (down KRW0.2 trillion down KRW0.2 trillion) maintained similar levels of decline compared with the previous month. (Assessment) In August (up KRW4.7 trillion), household loans grew at a notably slower pace compared with the same month a year ago (up KRW9.7 trillion) but expanded at a somewhat faster pace when compa
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Sep 07, 2025

Authorities Hold Meeting and Announce Additional Measures to Strengthen Household Debt Management

The Financial Services Commission held a meeting on household debt with officials from related government ministries, industry groups, and housing loan and guarantee institutions on September 7 and announced additional measures to tighten household debt management to implement the governments housing supply expansion plan. At the meeting, officials assessed that household debt growth decelerated amid the implementation of the strengthened household debt management measures (announced on June 27). However, the pace of growth expanded somewhat in August with housing prices also increasing in certain regions. In addition, officials pointed out that due to recent expectation about interest rate cuts, there exists market expectation for rising real estate prices. In this regard, officials viewed that it is necessary to introduce additional measures, while ensuring a consistent implementation of the June 27 household debt management measures. Additional Measures to Strengthen Household Debt Management Strengthen Loan-to-Value Regulation in Regulated Areas (50% 40%) The loan-to-value (LTV) ratio applied on mortgage loans for purchasing homes in the speculation regulated areas will be tightened to 40 percent from the previous level of 50 percent. This will help to contain demand for loans especially in the speculation regulated areas, while helping to improve the soundness management for both households and financial companies. Restrict Loans to Private Housing Business Entities (LTV = 0%) The loan-to-value ratio applied on mortgage loans for those registered as housing business entities (for purchasing and leasing purposes) will be set at zero percent in the Seoul metropolitan area and/or speculation regulated zones, which will help to restrict the issuance of business loans in ways that could bypass the tightened mortgage rules. However, as there are concerns about potential shortages in rental housing, exemptions may be granted for newly built housing units upon approval
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