Inclusive finance policies are aimed at providing financial support to the most vulnerable and marginalized groups to help them gain new opportunities and get back on their feet, thereby creating a virtuous cycle between financial inclusion and economic growth. A variety of government-sponsored microloan products are available for low-income individuals and those with unfavorable credit records. In addition, debt adjustment programs are available for delinquent debtors, offering an extended payment period, amortization, interest rate reduction and debt reduction. Consumer protection is a key area of inclusive finance policies. In this regard, the new legislation on financial consumer protection passed at the National Assembly in March 2020 aims to protect consumers from misselling and other unfair sales practices of financial companies while strengthening consumer rights and empowering consumers to make informed decisions about their investment and asset management.
-
Oct 14, 2021
-
Sep 14, 2021
-
Aug 04, 2021
-
Jul 06, 2021
-
Jul 01, 2021
-
Jun 21, 2021
-
Jun 14, 2021
-
Jun 08, 2021
-
May 31, 2021
-
May 27, 2021
-
May 21, 2021
-
May 13, 2021
-
Apr 27, 2021
-
Apr 26, 2021
-
Apr 26, 2021
-
Apr 19, 2021
- Debtor Assistance with Legal Representation to Bolster Inclusive Finance
- The FSC announced that the authorities will work to improve the debtor assistance program with legal representation through increased support, better accessibility and stronger coordination with investigative authorities in order to meet the rising demand for assistance and bolster financial inclusion. From January 28, 2020, the debtor assistance program that makes available legal representation service at free of charge began to provide support to the victims of illegal and excessive debt collection practices and the borrowers who took out loans with interest rates exceeding the maximum legal lending rate. In 2020, 632 individuals applied for assistance in 1,429 cases and free legal representation was provided in a total of 915 cases through the Korea Legal Aid Corporation (KLAC). In 893 cases, the KLAC-registered lawyers provided legal representation to stand in place of the debtor in respond to excessive debt collection methods, whereas in 22 other cases, legal representation was provided for filing lawsuits on behalf of debtors for excessive interest rate charge. In 2021, demand for support has increased as legal assistance has already been provided to 881 cases as of the end of March. In addition, a four-percentage-point reduction in the maximum legal lending rate is scheduled to take effect in July 2021. As such, the authorities plan to increase support, improve accessibility for both mobile and on-site applicants and strengthen coordination with the KLAC and investigative authorities to help strengthen financial inclusion. * Please refer to the attached PDF for details.
-
Mar 31, 2021
-
Mar 30, 2021
-
Mar 17, 2021
-
Mar 09, 2021
- Government Approves Revision Bill to Strengthen Investor Protection with PEFs
- The government approved a revision bill to the Enforcement Decree of the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act during a cabinet meeting held on March 9 with an aim to strengthen investor protection in the private equity fund (PEF) market. The revision bill is a follow-up to the measures to improve the regulatory framework on private equity funds announced on April 27, 2020and is scheduled go into effect immediately after promulgation in mid-March. Key Provisions I. Close Loopholes to Prevent Evasion of Tougher Regulations Currently, the number of investors for a private equity fund is limited to up to forty-nine.When a feeder fund invests in a master fund and the amount of that investment makes up ten percent or more of the master fund, the number of investors from feeder fund is counted toward the number of investors of the master fund. Under the current scheme, when a number of feeder funds makes investments of less than ten percent each toward a master fund, the master fund can be operated as a PEFand not as a publicly traded fundeven when the actual number of investors exceeds the regulated threshold of less than fifty. To address this problem, the revised bill adds another provision to the current scheme, which requires that when a number of feeder funds from a single PEF management firm invests in a master fund and their total investment amount makes up thirty percent or more of the master fund, the number of investors in the feeder funds will be counted toward the total number of investors of the master fund. II. Strengthen Regulations on Unfair and Inappropriate Sales Activities Cross investing or circular investing between PEFs managed by the same entity exposes the problem of artificially inflating the volume of trust or the possibility of dual compensations. In addition, recent PEF mis-selling cases revealed coercive sales tactics in return for other monetary benefits, such as business investment or loan from the fund. The revision bill pr