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Sep 26, 2022
- KoFIU Unveils H1 2022 Survey Result on Virtual Asset Service Providers
- The Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (KoFIU) conducted a survey on 35 registered virtual asset service providers (VASPs) in order to see the current state of the domestic virtual asset market. Survey Overview (Respondents) 35 VASPs (26 exchange service providers and 9 other businesses) (Survey Method) Collect data from VASPs by paper surveys (Period Covered) January 1, 2022 to June 30, 2022 Key Survey Findings for H1 2022 The domestic market for virtual assets in H1 2022 has been downsized significantly compared to that of H2 2021 in terms of market capitalization, trading volume, etc.This seems to be caused by a slowdown in economic activities following the crisis in Ukraine, interest rate hikes and decreasing liquidity as well as falling level of confidence in virtual assets in the wake of the Terra-Luna crash. Total sales profits gained by VASPs stood at KRW630.1 billion, a drop of 62 percent compared to KRW1.6 trillion in H2 2021. According to the survey, the number of virtual assets traded in domestic market was 1,371. When excluding duplicates on multiple exchanges, the number of virtual assets stood at 638, and among them, the number of stand-alone virtual assets listed and traded on a single exchange was 391 (or 61 percent). The proportion (% of market capitalization) of the global top ten virtual assets handled by the KRW-based exchange service providers increased from 41 percent to 47 percent, while the proportion (% of market capitalization) of stand-alone virtual assets increased from 84 percent to 86 percent for the coin-only exchange service providers. About 36 percent of stand-alone virtual assets (or 139 of them) were small-scale in their size with market capitalization of KRW100 million or less. For these small-scale virtual assets, users need to practice caution as they may be prone to abrupt price volatilityand liquidity shortage. As of the end of June 2022, the number of users eligible to trade in virtual assets stood at 6.9 million. The amount
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Sep 13, 2022
- Ex-ante Disclosure Rule to be Introduced for Insider Transactions
- The FSC announced a plan to introduce an ex-ante disclosure for stock transactions by company insiders (board members or principal shareholders) which have been subject to only the ex-post disclosure rule thus far. Insiders of listed companies who plan to sell or purchase shares issued by his/her own company within a given year will need to disclose the purpose, price and volume of trading as well as expected trading period at least 30 days before the expected trading date. For nondisclosure, disclosure of false information or failure to comply with the trading plan, authorities will prepare effective compliance measures depending on the severity of violation such as a criminal penalty, fine, administrative action, etc. Introducing ex-ante disclosure is expected to enhance information transparency and market predictability regarding insider stock trading, thereby helping to ease market volatility. Since this measure is a closely anticipated policy task of the new administration, the financial authorities will make efforts to promptly prepare and submit a revision proposal of the Capital Markets Act to the National Assembly. Background Large-scale stock offloading by insiders such as board members of listed firms, etc. causing abrupt fall in stock prices has continued to present a source of discontent for investors and a concern for the society.Some ordinary investors suspect that company insiderswho have the ease of access to undisclosed company informationhave been using that information to pocket personal profits while ordinary investors are burdened with losses. Faced with this problem, the FSC has strengthened safeguards for ordinary investors by improving the rule in March this year to restrict stock sales for six months (a lock-up period) from the time of company being listed even for shares that have been acquired by exercising stock option. However, this measure alone cannot regulate sales of stocks by insiders after the lock-up period (six months) and that
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Sep 05, 2022
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Aug 29, 2022
- New Start Fund for Small Merchants and Self-employed Business Owners Hit by Covid-19 To Be Launched
- A debt adjustment program, called New Start Fund, for small merchants and self-employed business owners hit by the Covid-19 crisis will be launched in October.The New Start Fund is intended to ease their debt payment burden as they are struggling to repay their debt since they suffered unavoidable losses while cooperating with the governments quarantine measures such as social distancing policy and restrictions to business operations. Background Over the past two and a half years, self-employed business owners and small merchants have suffered inescapable damages in the process of cooperating with the governments preventive measures, such as restrictions on business operation, in response to the COVID-19 crisis. As their businesses slowed down and financial conditions deteriorated, small businesses turned to debt and the size of their loans have grown significantly with increased burdens for principal and interest payments. Major institutions including the Bank of Korea evaluate the size of potential insolvency of self-employed business owners to be about 5 to 8 percent of their total loans. With the availability of COVID-19 support measures such as the loss compensation support, funding support through fiscal spending and the loan maturity extension and payment deferment program, the vulnerability of their debt situation had not surfaced yet. However, there are possibilities that their insolvency potential may build up and expand if there is another wave of COVID-19 or a worsening of the economic or financial conditions due to high levels of interest rates, prices and USD-to-KRW exchange rates. Against this backdrop, the FSC has prepared a debt adjustment program (called New Start Fund) to help prevent an expansion in the insolvency potential of the pandemic-hit small businesses and to provide a chance of credit recovery and restart for debtors who have already turned insolvent. The debt adjustment program will help lower excessive payment burdens (high interest ra
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Aug 08, 2022
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Aug 03, 2022
- FSC Announces Measures to Strengthen Financial Support for Business Transformation
- The FSC unveiled a plan to provide financial support in the amount of about KRW1 trillion to companies pursuing business transformation to cope with changing digital and environmental conditions in order to help domestic companies regain their competitiveness edge and expand their business areas. Background In the process of responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, the rapidly changing business conditions such as digital transformation and carbon net zero movement have necessitated businesses to make changes at a greater level. Considering a slowdown in the level of business productivity, it has become necessary for companies to proactively seek structural transformation of their business in order to enhance the level of competitiveness. Measures to Support Business Transformation Currently, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE)s standards for approving business transformation activities and the evaluation standards used by financial institutions remain different, so that it has been difficult to provide financing support to those that have been approved by MOTIE. Therefore, authorities will strengthen the pre-selection process to ensure that businesses that are eligible to receive financial assistance are selected as the entities pursuing business transformation by introducing a two-staged evaluation process (evaluation of disqualification criteria and evaluation of technological prowess). a) The business transformation support center will examinethe financial conditions of applicants and determine whether there are any reasons for disqualification. b) A technology credit bureau (TCB) will examine and determine the technological prowess and the viability of business model for those that have passed the evaluation of disqualification criteria. Through TCBs technology appraisal,the feasibility of new business model will be evaluated such as the potential for expanding sales, operating profit, etc., and the capability for capital expansion will be evaluated b
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Jul 28, 2022
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Jul 13, 2022
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Jul 06, 2022
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Jul 04, 2022
- FSC and FSS Decide to Implement Measures to Mitigate Stock Market Volatility
- In response to a recent increase in stock market volatility, the financial authorities held a market monitoring meeting on July 1 and decided to take measures to mitigate market volatility. (a) Requirement for securities firms to maintain a certain level of collateral ratio on their credit loans will be exempted for three months starting from July 4, which may be extended if needed. (b) Caps on the amount of daily buy orders for acquisition of treasury stocks by listed companies will be eased for three months starting from July 7, which may be extended if needed. (c) The FSS and KRX will jointly conduct a special inspection on short-selling practices. Financial authorities will continue to monitor financial market conditions, holding a joint market monitoring meeting on a weekly basis, and consider or implement market volatility mitigation measures, if needed, in accordance with contingency plans. Background With the KOSPI falling below 2,300 points during intraday trading on July 1, Koreas stock market has shown continued and increasing volatilityon concerns over rising interest rates, expanding inflation, possibility of a global economic recession, etc. Although increased stock market volatility will be inevitable for a while, given macroeconomic conditions at home and abroad, it is necessary to stay alert about the spread of excessive market anxieties. Measures To Mitigate Stock Market Volatility The FSC and FSS held a joint market monitoring meeting with relevant securities institutionschaired by FSC Vice Chairman Kim So-young to examine financial market conditions after the market closing on July 1, and decided to implement the following measures to mitigate market volatility. (a) For three months from July 4 to September 30, which may be extended if needed, securities firms will be exempted from a requirementto maintain a certain level of collateral ratios on their credit loans in order to ease concerns about a surge in forced liquidation with declining stock
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Jun 09, 2022
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May 11, 2022
- FSC Approves Registration of Three P2P Financing Firms and Informs Users to Practice Caution
- The FSC approved on May 11 the registration of The Asset Fintech Co., TGS Finance Co. and Ontwoin Co. for the operation of online investment-linked financial businesses (peer-to-peer or P2P financing business) as they satisfied the registration requirements specified under the Act on Online Investment-linked Financial Business and Protection of Users (the Act hereinafter). With the addition of three more entities, there are currently 47 registered P2P financing firms in total. For businesses that have already submitted their applications for registration, the FSC will promptly make decisions on their application review, and for those that have shown a potential of business closure, the authorities will seek measures to prevent damage to users. The FSC also said that users need to practice caution when using P2P financing and should beware of the following factors. First, users should note that there is no guarantee on principal investments and should refrain from investing in businesses that promise excessive rewards or have a record of lending excessive amounts to the same borrower. Second, borrowers need to check whether the interest rate and fee levels are in line with the maximum legal lending rate of 20 percent per annum which had been lowered since July last year. Registration of P2P Financing Business On May 11, three more business entitiesThe Asset Fintech Co., TGS Finance Co., and Ontwoin Co.have registered as P2P lending businesses with the FSC as they met the registration requirements specified under the Act. The registration of P2P lending firms under the Act is expected to help provide an enhanced level of protectionsfor P2P financing users and contribute to the improvement of credibility and sound developmentof the P2P financing industry in the future. Note for User Caution A. For Investors (No Guarantee on Principal Investments) P2P loans are highly risky products and do not guarantee collection of investments. When a borrower defaults on a loan, loss
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Apr 01, 2022
- FSC Approves Rules Change to Gradually Introduce Mark-to-Market Valuation on Corporate MMFs
- The FSC approved a revision to the regulation on financial investment business at the 6th regular meeting held on March 30 for gradually introducing the mark-to-market valuation method on corporate money market funds (MMFs) and to check relevant preparation and implementation to facilitate a soft-landing of the mark-to-market method in the market. Background The mark-to-market valuation method on corporate MMFs is scheduled to take effect from April 1, 2022, which was introduced through amendments to the Enforcement Decree of the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act (FSCMA) and the regulation on financial investment business in March 2020. Although the mark-to-market valuation method is considered as the rule of the game in principle, prior to the amendments, the book value method was permitted on MMFs as long as the disparate rate in the market-to-book value is within 0.5 percent. However, when disparity in the market-to-book value widens, there is a possibility of causing an abrupt and large-scale redemption as the earlier the investor redeems his/her money, the higher valuation s/he will get on return. As such, the amendments have been introduced to bring about improvements by introducing and implementing the mark-to-market valuation method on corporate MMFs from April 2022. Some of the key changes include (a) making an exemption to allow the book value method on corporate MMFs with more than 30 percent of stable assets as prescribed by the regulation on financial investment business and (b) expanding the duration of corporate MMFs using the mark-to-market valuation method from 75 days previously to 120 days to promote a wider use. However, with a growing potential of rising volatility in short-term money markets recently, there have been calls for a need to introduce the mark-to-market valuation method in a step-by-step manner in order to prevent corporate MMFs from turning into potential risk factors. With the MMFs current preference for the bo
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Feb 23, 2022
- FSC Chairman Holds Meeting to Discuss Ways to Improve Deposit Insurance Scheme
- FSC Chairman Koh Seungbeom held a meeting with the president of the Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation (KDIC), financial industry group leaders and other market experts on February 23 and discussed ways to make improvements to the deposit insurance system. The following is a summary of Chairman Kohs remarks. Chairmans Remarks (Importance of Deposit Insurance for Financial Stability) The deposit insurance system has been a mainstay of our recovery efforts in times of financial crisis situations. Starting from this year, in order to minimize systemic market disorder that may result from large financial companies turning insolvent, the KDIC is overseeing their resolution plans for approval from the FSC when systemically important financial institutions (SIFIs) are unable to recover on their own.Recently, financial imbalances have become more problematic around the world and there are growing concerns about potential risks turning into a reality. As such, the role of the KDIC is becoming ever more integral in providing financial safety net. Timely detection of market risks, prevention of financial companies going bankrupt and stronger cooperation and coordination with relevant institutions should take place. As systemic risk may find us before we find it, the KDIC should have support measures ready to be prepared for market instability. (Need to Make Improvements to Deposit Insurance System) The deposit insurance system needs to be updated and improved in line with the changes taking place in the financial industry. Rapid growth of the nonbanking sector and the convergence between finance and information technology have led to the emergence of new financial services. The expanded availability of short-term money market instruments, such as repurchase agreement (repo) and asset-backed commercial paper (ABCP), and the emergence of electronic prepaid payment mechanisms may weaken the crisis response function of the traditional deposit insurance institution. In addition, d
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Dec 29, 2021
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Dec 22, 2021
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Dec 06, 2021
- FSC Chairman Discusses Key Policy Tasks for 2022 in Virtual Press Briefing
- FSC Chairman Koh Seungbeom held an end-of-year press briefing in a virtual format on December 3 to discuss policy outcomes for this year and explain key policy tasks for 2022. At the beginning of his keynote address, Chairman Koh touched upon some of the important policy initiatives and their outcomes for 2021, including policies on household debt management, COVID-19 financial support for small merchants and SMEs, virtual asset service providers, digital transformation in the financial sector and financial consumer protection. Chairman Koh then discussed key policy tasks for 2022 as summarized below. Chairmans Remarks on 2022 Policy Focus The global economy is expected to maintain its recovery momentum in 2022 but market uncertainties are growing due to asset price volatility, rising prices and persistent concerns about inflation. Domestic situations are also concerning. Financial imbalances and potential risks need to be managed while the provision of pandemic-related supports should be maintained. Excessive debt levels should be reduced while assistance for the lower income and vulnerable groups should continue to be available. Ensuring stability in the financial system and pursuing inclusive financial policies may be contradictory in nature but seeking a proper balance between the two is the task of the financial authority. In this regard, the FSC will focus on the following three policy areas. First, the authorities will continue to work on tackling financial imbalances. Unlike some of the other major economies where debt levels have increased much more in the public sector, Korea has seen debt levels grow much faster in the household and corporate sectors. The household debt management plan for 2022 will be focused on managing the total amount of debt extended with a longer term plan for gradually introducing a more systematic management plan. With the application of the individual borrower-level debt service ratios (DSRs), stable management of household debt
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Nov 03, 2021
- FSC Chairman Emphasizes Consumer Protection and Discusses Role of Insurance Business
- FSC Chairman Koh Seungbeom held a meeting with the heads of insurance companies and relevant officials on November 3 and discussed the role of insurance business and importance of consumer protection. Chairmans Remarks Rapid changes taking place in the structure of demographics, rising interest rates, digital transformation and spread of platform businesses are demanding innovation from the insurance industry. In order to build a foundation for the future of the industry, it is necessary to look at the scope of insurance coverages, the sales and payout process and so on. To help promote further development of the insurance industry, the authorities provide support in the following areas. First, the authorities will provide active support for insurance companies to help strengthen the function private-sector safety net in response to demographic change. The authorities will set up a public-private joint consultative body to formulate measures for improving the indemnity health insurance system. To preemptively respond to newly emerging risks, such as the spread of infectious disease, the government will enhance inter-agency coordination to promote insurance on transmissible diseases. In addition, the authorities will look into ways to strengthen the role of pension insurance to address rapid demographic changes. Second, the government will support diversification of insurance business and their organizational models to help insurers better cope with the changing environment. Specific measures will be prepared to ease the current licensing rules to reflect diversification of consumer needs and insurance products. While continuing to work on introducing small-sum and short-term insurance products, the authorities will allow insurers to assume other related business areas that are deemed to be essential for operating new business, such as a platform-based health care-related service offering. Third, the government will support digital innovation of insurance business to
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Nov 01, 2021
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Oct 26, 2021
- Government Unveils Additional Measures for Household Debt Management
- The government announced additional measures to strengthen household debt management at the 47th Meeting of Central Economic Response Headquarters held on October 26. The measures are aimed at preemptively managing household debt-related risks and resolving financial imbalances while ensuring the availability of loans to individuals in actual need. Some of the key measures include improving the effectiveness of DSR rules applied on individual borrowers, strengthening targeted management in the nonbank sector and promoting more installment payments on both housing and personal credit-based loans. These are supplementary measures to the initial household debt management plan announced on April 29, 2021. Background (Recent Trends) The household debt growth has shown a downward trend in recent years after reaching an 11.6 percent growth in 2016. However, it has spiked up again in 2020 due to the pandemic-related policies and rise in asset prices.For this year, the government had previously set the goal of containing the growth of household debt to five to six percent as it sought to control debt levels while continuing to make financing available for first time homebuyers, renters, etc. Along this line, the government introduced the measures to curb credit-based loansand expand the application of the debt service ratio (DSR) rules on individual borrowers in April this year. At the same time, the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio has been eased with the support for rent deposit (including jeonse) made available for young adults, newly married couples, etc. However, household debt levels spiked in the first half of this year due to instability in the housing market and resurgence in the coronavirus infection cases. The growth in credit loans and personal mortgages that led the surge in total debt levels at the end of 2020 stabilized. But loans for rent deposits, collective lending and government-backed housing mortgages all continued to rise with a spillover effect into the nonba
