Press Releases - Financial Services Commission

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Apr 28, 2020

Government Adopts Revised Rules to Facilitate Effective Delivery of Emergency Relief Payments

The government approved a revision to the Enforcement Decree of the Electronic Financial Transactions Act during a cabinet meeting on April 28 to help facilitate a more effective and convenient way of delivering emergency relief payments to households.The revision raises the cap on the maximum value of prepaid electronic cards issued by the central and regional governments to up to KRW3 million until September 30, 2020.The increased cap is applicable only in the case of providing emergency relief payments by the central and regional governments in response to crisis situations, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.Along with the revision to the Enforcement Decree of the Specialized Credit Finance Business Act announced last week, this will help expedite the provision of emergency relief payments to households.* Please refer to the attached PDF for details.
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Apr 27, 2020

Deferment of Principal Payment Available for Vulnerable Debtors

The FSC announced on April 27 that deferment of principal payment will be available for vulnerable debtors who are unable to service debts due to diminished income caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. It will be offered by all financial institutions from April 29 until the end of this year.PROGRAMSBased on the situation of individual debtors, either a pre-workout program or a debt adjustment program is available.(PRE-WORKOUT BY FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS) Microfinance loan users should apply for deferment of principal payment from the original lending institutions. Debtors without multiple debts are also able to apply at the lending institutions.Individual debtors whose diminished income minus living expenses is lower than monthly debt payment can apply for a deferment of principal payment for six to twelve months with no extra fees.(DEBT ADJUSTMENT BY CREDIT COUNSELING RECOVERY SERVICE) Debtors with multiple debts can apply for deferment of principal payment through a debt adjustment program at the Credit Counseling Recovery Service.Individual debtors with multiple debts whose net property value is less than the amoun ot total debts can apply for a deferment of principal payment for six to twelve months. Long-term debtors with three or more months of overdue payments may also be eligible for a debt relief program which offers 10~70 percent of debt cancellation.* Please refer to the attached PDF for details.
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Apr 27, 2020

FSC Finalizes Measures to Improve Regulatory Framework on Private Equity Funds

The FSC and the FSS announced the finalized measures to improve the regulatory framework on private equity funds on April 24. The final measures are based on the previously introduced plans on February 14, and take into account opinions from experts and stakeholders. While ensuring the autonomy of private equity funds, the measures aim to establish market disciplines and introduce a minimum necessary level of regulations to protect investors and prevent system risks.BACKGROUNDThe private equity fund market has grown significantly backed by the government’s policy promoting its development. However, concerns over investor protection became an issue due to problems of misselling, liquidity management and other unfair and/or unlawful sales practices. Against this backdrop, the government introduced on November 14, 2019 its plans to strengthen investor protection with high-risk investment products to prevent excessive consumer damages to retail investors. Between November 2019 and January 2020, the government conducted a study on the private equity fund market to check potential risks and vulnerabilities, and announced a set of improvement measures on February 14. Based on the previous announcements and after taking into account various expert opinions, the government prepared the below finanlized measures to improve the regulatory framework on private equity funds.KEY MEASURESThe basic principles of the improvements are largely in line with the previously announced changes with further details added thereafter.I. STRENGTHENING RISK MANAGEMENT BASED ON MARKET DISCIPLINESThe government will work to establish a foundation in which different market participants and players can provide a supervisory role and ‘checks and balances’ against one another.II. IMPROVING INVESTOR PROTECTIONThe FSC will address vulnerabilities in the structure of funds with a minimum necessary level of regulatory measures to improve investor protection.III. STRENGTHEN SUPERVISION AND INSPECTIO
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Apr 27, 2020

Extension of Reporting Deadline Available for Companies Affected by COVID-19

The financial authorities announced on April 24 their decision to temporarily lift administrative sanctions for companies that are unable to meet the quarterly and semi-annual reporting deadline due to COVID-19 related issues.For the companies that have already been granted exemptions from sanctions, the deadline has been extended until May 15. The authorities will accept additional applications for exemption from sanctions between April 27 and 29. Based on the review of applications, the Securities and Futures Commission will then decide to adopt an additional 30-day extension of deadline when the commission meets for a regular meeting on May 6.* Please refer to the attached PDF for details.
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Apr 23, 2020

Vice Chairman Emphasizes Crucial Role of Financial Institutions in Supporting Key Industries

FSC Vice Chairman Sohn Byungdoo held a meeting with officials from banks and financial associations on April 23 and held talks on the government’s recently announced measures to temporarily ease financial regulations and to provide additional liquidity to support key industries and help businesses retain jobs.Vice Chairman Sohn explained about the plans to set up a KRW40 trillion stabilization fund to support the country’s key industries, including airline, shipping, shipbuilding, auto and telecommunication industries, and to expand the emergency liquidity support by KRW35 trillion for small merchants and other business entities.With regard to the temporary easing of financial regulations, Vice Chairman Sohn said that the deregulatory measures on capital adequacy, liquidity and asset quality as well as other exemptions have freed up about KRW206 trillion to KRW394 trillion extra funding capacity across all financial sectors.Vice Chairman Sohn also spoke about the risk of investing in high-risk, high-yield financial products amid continuing uncertainy in the financial markets and warned against price fixing and other market manipulation behaviors.The participants agreed on the crucial role of financial institutions in ensuring a smooth implementation of the government’s emergency support funds and vowed to play an active role in providing support to businesses.* Please refer to the attached PDF for details.
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Apr 22, 2020

Government Announces KRW40 Trillion Fund to Support Key Industries

The government introduced measures to establish a KRW40 trillion fund to support key industries and help businesses retain jobs on April 22. In addition, the government will help provide more liquidity to the businesses in need through a KRW35 trillion increase in the emergency financial support package.KEY PROVISIONSI. ESTABLISHING A KRW40 TRILLION+ STABILIZATION FUND FOR KEY INDUSTRIES► SIZE: A KRW40 trillion+ new stabilization fund will be established to support key industries, which will be operated by the Korea Development Bank. The fund will be raised by issuing state guaranteed fund bonds. In addition, private funds and special purpose vehicles will also contribute to the stabilization fund.► TARGET: The fund will support key industries that have significant impact on employment and the real economy, including airline, shipping, shipbuilding, auto, general machinery, electric power and communication industries.► CONDITION: (a) The autonomy in business management will be guaranteed in principle based on the condition of self-rescue efforts. (b) Businesses will be required to work on maintaining employment when receiving the support. (c) Businesses will be subject to limitations in executive compensation, dividend payouts, and share buybacks. (d) The support will be provided in a way that allows sharing of benefits from business normalization in the future.► OPERATION: (a) Support will be provided in diverse ways through loans, payment guarantees and investments according to specific industry and business needs. (b) Investment and credit extension to related funds and special purpose vehicles will be permitted to promote inputs from private sector funding channels and their know-hows. (c) A council will be set up to ensure professionality, accountability and transparency of the fund management.II. EXPANDING EMERGENCY FINANCIAL SUPPORT PACKAGE BY KRW35 TRILLION► FINANCING SUPPORT FOR SMALL MERCHANTS (KRW10 TRILLION): The 1st stage financing support mad
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Apr 22, 2020

Vice Chairman Calls for Enhanced Monitoring of Corporate Bond Markets by FSB

FSC Vice Chairman Sohn Byungdoo participated in the Financial Stability Board’s steering committee meeting via conference call on April 21. At the meeting, the members agreed that the early signs of widespread anxieties in the financial markets have diminished due to policy responses from each country. Meanwhile, they raised concerns about the potential rise in solvency risk due to continuing uncertainty.At the meeting, Vice Chairman Sohn stated that the volatility in the financial markets appears to have stabilized in April. In order to prepare for the possibility of a further economic downturn, the FSB needs to strengthen monitoring of the corporate bond markets and derivatives markets.In addition, banks should implement more flexible lending rules on a par with the governments’ efforts at regulatory flexibility. However, lowering regulatory standards risks regulatory fragmentation across jurisdictions, which raises the possibility of regulatory arbitrage and threatens financial stability. In this regard, Vice Chairman Sohn suggested that the FSB and the international standard setting institutions should provide guidelines on the appropriate levels of regulatory flexibility.* Please refer to the attached PDF for details.
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Apr 21, 2020

Overall Resilience of Korea's Financial System Observed by IMF's FSAP

The International Monetary Fund published the Financial System Stability Assessment for Korea on April 21 in which it observed the overall resilience of Korea’s financial system.The FSSA report finds that the “Korean authorities have continued their efforts at upgrading the prudential, legal and supervisory framework for the financial sector,” and “have been strengthening the system with micro and macroprudential measures against vulnerabilities, strengthening the crisis management framework, and upgrading the prudential and legal framework.”The report also noted a few vulnerabilities, including “growth related uncertainties and elevated household debt,” and suggested twelve specific recommendations in four key policy areas.Classified as one of the twelve countries with systemically important financial sectors, the IMF’s Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) conducts financial stability assessment on Korea every five years. Following previous assessments in 2003 and 2014, the current FSSA report is drawn from the conclusion of a FSAP mission which took place in 2019.* Please refer to the attached PDF for details.
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Apr 21, 2020

FSC Revises Rules to Help Expedite Emergency Relief Payments to Households

A revision to the Enforcement Decree of the Specialized Credit Finance Business Act was approved at a cabinet meeting on April 21. It raises the cap on the face value of non-personalized prepaid cards from KRW500,000 to KRW3 million until September 30, 2020.The application of the increased cap is limited to the purpose of providing emergency relief payments via non-personalized prepaid cards by the central and regional governments in response to crisis situations, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, with specific recipients, usable places and expiry dates predetermined.As the government is preparing to provide emergency relief payments to households, this revision is expected to facilitate the prompt and effective provision of the relief to the households in need.* Please refer to the attached PDF for details.
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Apr 20, 2020

Plans for Temporary Easing of Financial Regulations in Response to COVID-19

The financial authorities announced on April 17 a set of temporary deregulatory measures on financial institutions’ capital adequacy, liquidity and asset quality requirements to help boost their financing capacity amid the COVID-19 crisis. The deregulatory measures are expected to pave the way for financial institutions to play a more active role in providing support to the real economy.BACKGROUNDThe international society including the G20 and the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision recognized the need for a more flexible application of financial regulations in response to COVID-19. The adoption of the Basel III standards in the aftermath of the 2007-2008 financial crisis has boosted the stability of financial institutions in crisis situations. But it also had an effect of constraining their ability to flexibly respond to crisis situations. Against this backdrop, the Financial Stability Board recently made a recommendation for more flexible application of regulations.In response to COVID-19, the Korean government has made available more than KRW100 trillion in financing support via financial institutions. The financial institutions at the forefront of delivering this emergency support package to businesses have been requesting an easing of such regulations so that they can increase their financing capacity to help support the real economy.TEMPORARY EASING OF FINANCIAL REGULATIONSThe deregulatory measures will be based on the four key principles—necessity, temporariness, promptness and effectiveness.I. REGULATIONS ON CAPITAL ADEQUACY► CONTRIBUTION TO STOCK MARKET STABILIZATION FUND: Banks, securities companies and insuance companies that are making contributions to the stock market stabilization fund will see lower risk weights for the amount of contribution they make.(Banks) Under the current regulations, banks’ investment in funds that have listed stocks as underlying assets should be assigned a 300 percent risk weight in principle. However, banks will b
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Apr 17, 2020

Financial Authorities to Temporarily Ease Regulations on Capital and Liquidity Requirements

FSC Vice Chairman Sohn Byungdoo held a meeting on April 17 via conference call to check the delivery of the government’s COVID-19 emergency support package and financial market stabilization measures.The following is a summary of Vice Chairman Sohn’s remarks:► STRONG COOPERATION: The FSC and the FSS along with all other relevant institutions will closely cooperate in working to prevent bankruptcies and job lossess. ► ENSURING SEAMLESS IMPLEMENTATION: For guaranteed loans, the guarantee institutions had different standards for offering deferments on the principal payment. Due to an improvement in the standards, this discrepancy has been removed.► EASING REGULATIONS: In order to make sure that financial institutions providing the COVID-19 emergency support package do not face liquidity shortages, the government will temporarily ease regulations on the capital and liquidity requirements, while also working to improve the performance assessment measures for public financial institutions.FINANCIAL SUPPORT PROVIDEDBetween February 7 and April 13, a total of KRW40.9 trillion (488,000 individual cases) in loans and guarantees as well as loan and guarantee extensions were provided to the SMEs, small merchants and self-employed business that have been hit by the spread of COVID-19.► FINANCING BY TYPE: KRW19.6 trillion (352,000 cases) in new loans and guarantees, KRW19.9 trillion (120,000 cases) in maturity extensions and deferred payments, and KRW1.4 trillion (16,000 cases) in export-import credit finance, discounted interest rates and late fees and deferment of interest payment► FINANCING BY TARGET: KRW19.4 trillion (424,000 cases) to small merchants, KRW17.1 trillion (64,000 cases) to SMEs and KRW4.5 trillion (594 cases) to middle market enterprises► FINANCING BY INDUSTRY: KRW5.6 trillion (56,000 cases) to wholesale businesses, KRW3.8 trillion (111,000 cases) to restaurant businesses and KRW3.6 trillion (82,000 cases) to retail businesses► FINANCING BY PRO
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Apr 17, 2020

FATF Report Finds Korea Has Strong Legal Framework for AML/CFT Regime

The Financial Action Task Force published the 4th round mutual evaluation report on Korea’s anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing (AML/CFT) regime on April 16. The mutual evaluation report finds that “Korea has a sound legal framework to tackle money laundering and terrorist financing and to confiscate funds involved,” and “has significantly strengthened its AML/CFT framework which is now delivering good results.” The mutual evaluation process began in January 2019 with a field visit for due diligence taking place in July last year. After a six-month cooperation, the mutual evaluation report was adopted during the FATF plenary meeting in February 2020.* Please refer to the attached PDF for details.
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Apr 16, 2020

FSC Approves Revised Rules on Misconduct in Financial Services

The FSC decided to adopt the revised rules and regulations for the examination and sanctions on financial institutions on April 16 as a follow-up measure to the plans to improve the rules on exemption for misconduct in financial services announced in the previous week.RULES ON EXEMPTION FROM SANCTIONS The revisions are intended to guarantee exemptions from sanctions for financial services workers, and by doing so, to help encourage them to play a more active role in offering loans and other financial support to the businesses and individuals in need during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as in other crisis situations.The revised rules and regulations include an ex ante provision to ensure that the exemption from sanctions will be applied to the possible misselling or misconduct cases that have occurred prior to the adoption of these changes.REQUEST FOR REGULATORY INTERPRETATION AND NO-ACTION LETTERThe FSC also decided to allow financial institutions to anonymously submit requests for regulatory interpretation and no-action letter from April 16. Until now, financial institutions faced obstacles as they were only able to file requests with the company name and the name of the company representative.From April 16, financial institutions will be able to submit requests anonymously via online at http://better.fsc.go.kr and by providing only their contact information such as a telephone number and an email address.* Please refer to the attached PDF for details.
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Apr 13, 2020

Application Opens for Participating Businesses to 2020 Korea Fintech Week

The application for the 2020 Korea Fintech Week is open from April 13 to 24 for prospective participants wishing to showcase their fintech products and innovative services via virtual exhibition halls.The FSC has decided to hold the 2020 Korea Fintech Week as a virtual expo from May 28 due to public health concerns amid the COVID-19 crisis. Under the theme of “Fintech for Open Innovation,” the virtual expo will feature online seminars for information sharing on the latest trends of the fintech industry as well as the five virtual exhibition halls for about 150 fintech and other related services.The five virtual exhibition halls will be organized into a fintech start-up hall, a fintech scale-up hall, a big tech hall, a financial enterprise hall and a global enterprise hall.While there are no participation fees, participating companies need to prepare their own digital promotional materials.Application will be accepted from Monday, April 13 until Friday 6:00 pm, April 24. Prospective participants should download the application form from www.fintechcenter.or.kr and submit their applications along with supporting materials via email at fintechweek@fintechcenter.or.kr.The results of the application will be announced on Friday, May 1 for the fintech start-up hall and on Friday, May 8 for all other exhibition halls.The government plans to provide active support to fintech firms with their overseas business opportunities by inviting financial authorities from other countries and embassy officials to the virtual expo.* Please refer to the attached PDF for details.
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Apr 13, 2020

Authorities Recommend Flexibility in Accounting Standards amid COVID-19 Crisis

The FSC and the FSS issued a guidance on April 10 recommending companies and auditors against a mechanical application of IFRS 9 standards for determining their expected credit losses (ECLs) during the COVID-19 crisis.As companies and auditors are preparing their quarterly reports and audit reports for the first quarter, there have been concerns over the looming uncertainty about how to determine the amount of ECLs due to the COVID-19 pandemic.In this regard, both companies and auditors are highly advised to consider the unprecedented financial and economic relief measures taken by the government in a comprehensive way when determining ECLs. Ordinarily, the government’s market support measures are expected to lower the risk of a default on a financial instrument.With regard to the impairment of financial instruments, IFRS 9 “requires that lifetime ECLs be recognized when there is a significant increase in credit risk (SICR) on a financial instrument” and “requires the application of judgement and both requires and allows entities to adjust their approach to determining ECLs in different circumstances.”The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has recently issued a statement in this regard on March 27, recommending entities to adopt a more flexible approach when recognizing the impairment of financial instruments due to high levels of uncertainty amid the COVID-19 crisis.* Please refer to the attached PDF for details.
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Apr 10, 2020

Financial Regulators Issue Investor Alert on COVID-19 Related Stocks

The financial regulators issued an investor alert on April 10 on a set of 69 stock items related to COVID-19 including masks, test kits, vaccines and other sanitary and disease prevention items due to high fluctuations in prices and concerns over possible damages to investors.Investors are advised to be aware of the possibility of incurring losses especially when investing in stocks for test kits or vaccines as their bullish prices tend to fall abruptly.Investors should also watch out for unconfirmed information about the development schedule of vaccines or the effectiveness of similar medicines circulating on the stock market bulletin boards, the internet or through text messaging system.The financial authorities will strengthen the market monitoring and supervisory functions to prevent unfair trading practices in the capital markets, such as the spread of false information and/or exaggerated announcement of business plans.* Please refer to the attached PDF for details.
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Apr 09, 2020

Fintech Innovation Fund to Invest More than KRW85.5 billion in Fintech Firms in 2020

The FSC announced on April 9 that the fintech innovation fund created in December 2019 will be put to use with direct investment expected in the amount of KRW20 billion in April this year. With many fintech firms expected to have troubles finding investment amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the FSC will continue to encourage effective and prompt investment through the fintech innovation fund.BACKGROUNDThe fintech innovation fund in the amount of KRW300 billion for a 4-year period (2020-2023) was created on December 23, 2019, led by major financial holding companies, banks and Koscom, to make more funding for investment available for innovative fintech firms. It is a fund of funds that provides tailored investments to fintechs from start-up to scale-up stages.For fintech start-ups with less than 5 years of experience, blind-pool feeder funds will be created for investment of about KRW150 billion. For scale-ups, project investment feeder funds will be established in the amount of KRW150 billion.Based on the future direction of fund management and market demand, the size of the fund of funds may be expanded to KRW500 billion over six years.PLANS FOR 2020A total of more than KRW85.5 billion in investment will be made available to fintech firms through the fintech innovation fund in 2020.► START-UPS: At least three feeder funds will be established with about KRW48 billion in investment. Korea Investment Partners and KB Investment have been selected as the designated fund management companies for this year with each managing KRW22.5 billion. In the second quarter, another fund manager will be designated for the management of a feeder fund specifically designed for a fintech accelerator or a foreign based fintech beginning in the fourth quarter.► SCALE-UPS: The first investment will be made in the amount of KRW20 billion to three fintech firms (big data, blockchain and foreign-based financial platform) in April and an additional investment of at least KRW17.5 billion will be
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Apr 09, 2020

Financial Authorities Work to Ensure Strong Support for Corporate Bond Issuance

FSC Vice Chairman Sohn Byungdoo held a meeting on April 9 via conference call to examine the implementation of the government’s COVID-19 emergency support package and financial market stabilization measures. At the meeting, Vice Chairman Sohn talked about P-CBOs and a prompt corporate bond underwriting program for businesses.The following is a summary of Vice Chairman Sohn’s remarks:► SANCTIONS EXEMPTION RULES: In mid-April, the government will revise the rules on exemption for sanctions on misconduct in financial services to make financial institutions’ internal sanctions rules more compatible with the government’s changed rules. ► EMERGENCY FINANCE SUPPORT BUREAU: A new taskforce body established at the FSC on April 6 is charged with monitoring and managing the implementation of the COVID-19 emergency support package and financial market stabilization measures. The Emergency Finance Support Bureau will work to resolve difficulties on the ground and improve the system. ► P-CBOS PROMPT UNDERWRITING OF CORPORATE BONDS: The bond market stabilization fund has been put into operation and additional support for corporate bonds will be ready soon through primary collateralized bond obligations (P-CBOs) and a prompt corporate bond underwriting program.For P-CBOs, about 20 middle market enterprises and large companies have requested support in the amount of approximately KRW700 billion so far. After reviewing applications received until April 14, corporate bond issueance in the amount of KRW500 billion will be supported at first through P-CBOs, which may be extended depending on market demand in the future.A prompt corporate bond underwriting program will also begin in as early as May after deciding the specific terms of agreement with the relevant institutions.► GLOBAL RESPONSE: The governments in other countries have demonstrated an unprecedented level of emergency responses in terms of the speed and the scope of policy implementation. The government will
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Apr 08, 2020

Household Loans, March 2020

The outstanding balance of household loans in all financial sectors rose KRW9.1 trillion (up 5.6% year-on-year) at the end of March 2020.By types, mortgage loans increased KRW5.2 trillion in March (up 5.5% year-on-year). Regular mortgage loans, jeonse loans and group lending expanded KRW6.3 trillion in the banking sector, while non-banks saw a drop of KRW1 trillion due to the availability of refinancing products with lower interest mortgage loans. Other types of loans rose KRW3.9 trillion (up 5.6% year-on-year) due to a rise in credit lending.The government will closely monitor trends in household loans as the outstanding balance of household loans by financial institutions is expected to increase in April due to a rising demand for loans amid the COVID-19 pandemic.* Please refer to the attached PDF for details.
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Apr 08, 2020

Plans to Improve Rules on Exemption for Misconduct in Financial Services

The FSC and the FSS announced on April 7 the plans to improve the rules on exemption for sanctions on misconduct in financial services. The plans are aimed at removing financial services workers’ concerns about the possibility of sanctions and promoting their active role in offering loans and other financial support to the businesses in need in crisis situations as with COVID-19 as well as in providing sufficient capital to innovative start-ups with their business setup and scale-up.The financial regulators will change the relevant rules and regulations to promptly implement the improvements to the exemption rules. The changed rules will significantly reduce uncertainties about the application of sanctions for financial services workers who are at the forefront of delivering the government’s COVID-19 emergency support funds to the businesses in need.KEY IMPROVEMENTS► APPLICATION OF EXEMPTIONS: (i) (DISASTER) Provision of loans and other financial services to crisis-hit businesses, as with COVID-19, and (ii) (INNOVATION) a variety of innovative financial services, such as movable asset-based financing, venture capital investment for innovative start-ups and SME loans based on their technological prowess and future growth potential will be exempted from sanctions for misconduct in financial services.The FSC may decide to grant sanctions exemptions for additional financial services based on the developments of the government’s financial and/or industrial policies, the innovativeness of financial services and the urgency consideration.A new confirmation process will be set up to remove grey areas through which financial institutions are able to request a confirmation of sanctions exemption from the FSC for particular loan or investment programs offered by their institutions.► NO ‘INTENT OR GROSS NEGLIGENCE’ RULE: Due to the highly specialized knowledge of financial workers, a strict rule of intent and gross negligence has been applied thus far. However, gi
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