Press Releases - Financial Services Commission

Press Releases

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Jan 26, 2023

SFC Imposes Penalty Surcharge on Overseas-based Financial Investment Entity for Market Disturbance

The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), a sub-commission of the FSC responsible for the oversight of the securities and futures market, decided on January 26 to impose a penalty surcharge of KRW11.88 billion on an overseas-based financial investment business entity (securities firm A hereinafter) for disturbing market order with its high-frequency algorithmic trading activities. This is the first instance in Korea where authorities reached a decision to impose a penalty surcharge for market disturbance caused by high-frequency algorithmic trading activities.With the growth in the volume of high-frequency algorithmic transactions recently, financial authorities will continuously strengthen the administration of market risks associated with them. Overview The SFC recognized that securities firm A engaged in an activity of disturbing market order in its transactions of a total of 264 stock items in 6,796 trading periods via a Seoul-based securities firm (securities firm B) between October 2017 and May 2018, and decided to impose a penalty surcharge of KRW11.88 billion on securities firm A, pursuant to the Article 429-2 of the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act (FSCMA). Violation Securities firm A engaged in trading activities using its algorithmic trading system, which enables it to acquire and analyze data on price quotation and trade executions as well as submit buy and sell orders via direct market access (DMA)more quickly than ordinary retail investors. In the process, securities firm A placed orders intensively and repetitively within a short period of time in the following pattern(a) placing immediate-or-cancel (IOC)buy market orders to exhaust all quantities of best ask prices in succession, and (b) submitting buy limit orders on any remaining unfilled quantity where there is no bid price given in order to newly generate the best bid price (inflating bid price) and then cancelling such transactions. Thus, a suspicion was raised that secur
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Jan 12, 2023

Household Loans, 2022

The outstanding balance of household loansacross all financial sectors dropped KRW8.7 trillion in 2022, declining for the first time since relevant statistics became available in 2015.Household loans in December 2022 fell KRW3.4 trillion, showing a continuing trend of a slowdown.Financial authorities will work to seamlessly implement the normalization of loan regulations, while continuing to stably managehousehold debt. Household Loan Trend in 2022 (Overall) Household loans across all financial sectors dropped KRW8.7 trillion in 2022. The growth rate (down 0.5 percent, y-o-y) fell for the first time since relevant statistics began to be collected in 2015. (By Type) Mortgage loans grew at a slower rate and the balance of other types of loans edged down, which led to the overall drop in household loans in 2022. - (Mortgage Loans) Mortgage loans grew KRW27.0 trillion in 2022, led by group lending for new apartment subscription and jeonse loans, but the pace of growth decelerated compared to the previous year (up KRW69.2 trillion). - (Other Types of Loans) Other types of loans fell KRW35.6 trillion in 2022, due to drops in credit loans and non-housing collateral loans. The increase of KRW38.3 trillion in the previous year turned to a decline. (By Sector) Household loans in both the banking and nonbanking sectors dropped compared to the end of last year. - (Banking Sector) Banks saw a drop of KRW2.7 trillion in household loans in 2022. Mortgage loans from banks grew KRW20.0 trillion, led by group lending for new apartment subscription (up KRW9.4 trillion) and jeonse loans (up KRW8.4 trillion),but edged lower compared to the previous year (up KRW56.9 trillion). Other types of loans from banks fell KRW22.8 trillion, as credit loans edged down KRW18.8 trillion, switching to a decline from the growth of KRW14.7 trillion last year. - (Nonbanking Sector) In 2022, nonbanks saw a drop of KRW5.9 trillion in household loans with increases in insurance companies (up KRW3.7 trillion
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Dec 22, 2022

Korea Appointed as Inaugural Member of IFRS Sustainability Standards Advisory Forum

The Financial Services Commission (FSC) and the Korea Accounting Institute (KAI) have been appointed by the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Foundation as inaugural member institutions of the Sustainability Standards Advisory Forum (SSAF) representing Korea on December 21, 2022. The SSAF is established to support the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) to develop and revise IFRS sustainability disclosure standards. It will be comprised of relevant government authorities and standard-setting institutions from around the world. Including those from Korea, thirteen representatives of jurisdictions and regions from around the worldthe European Union, the UK, Canada, China, Japan, Brazil, etc.have been appointed as SSAFs inaugural members. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the European Commission (EC), the International Organization of Securities Commission (IOSCO) and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) will also participate as official observers. From Korea, the FSC and the KAI have been appointed as joint members to the SSAF, and the Korean delegation will be led by Director Kim Kwang-il of the FSCs Fair Market Division. The FSC and the KAI will attend the SSAF meetings four times annually. In the standard-setting process, authorities will effectively relay various opinions from domestic industries, academia and experts on sustainability disclosure. The first meeting of the SSAF will be held at the ISSB head office in Frankfurt, Germany in the first quarter of 2023, and presumably, the final standards for the general sustainability-related disclosure requirements and the climate-related disclosure requirements that were previously announced in March 2022 as well as the ISSBs future standard-setting directions will be discussed. * Please refer to the attached PDF for details.
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Dec 20, 2022

Government Approves Revision Bill to Strengthen Rights of General Shareholders in Split-off of Listed Company

The government approved an amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act (FSCMA) at the state council held on December 20. This amendment is a follow-up to the measures to improve protection for general shareholders in IPO of split-off subsidiary announced on September 5. Key Details and Anticipated Effect Until the end of this year, all three layers of general shareholder protection system regarding IPO of split-off subsidiary become established and begin operation. With this system, it is expected that companies will pay sufficient attention to the rights and interests of general shareholders when they pursue a split-off and losses incurred to general shareholders in a split-off of a subsidiary, which has been pointed out repeatedly, will be effectively prevented. a) (Enhanced Disclosure) From October 18 this year, companies seeking to split off a subsidiary disclose their business restructuring plan including the purpose of split-off, anticipated effect, shareholder protection measures and listing plan on their material fact reports. - As a result, general shareholders and investors can get adequate information related to the split-off and make informed decisions at general meetings of shareholders, when exercising the right to request companies to purchase their shares and when making investments. b) (Right to Request Company to Purchase Shares) The amendment approved today grants shareholders, who dissent from the companys split-off decision, a rightto request that company purchase his or her stocks when the companys board of directors reaches a resolution to make a split-off. - If a majority of general shareholders is opposed to the split-off or that a potential drop in company value is triggered, pursuing a split-off in itself can be difficult. Therefore, in essence, listed companies can pursue a split-off only when they prepare shareholder protection measures in place and have convinced general shareholders
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Dec 08, 2022

Household Loans, November 2022

In November 2022, the outstanding balance of household loansacross all financial sectors declined KRW3.2 trillion (m-o-m). Household loans continued to show a declining trend as the year-on-year growth rate in November dropped for the first time since relevant statistics became available in 2015.Financial authorities will stably manage the grow rate of household debt and work to seamlessly implement the normalization of relevant loan regulations to help alleviate the difficulties of non-speculative homebuyers. (Overall) Household loans across all financial sectors dropped KRW3.2 trillion in November. The growth rate (down 0.3 percent, y-o-y) fell for the first time since relevant statistics began to be collected in 2015, which shows a sustaining trend of a slowdown since the second half of last year. (By Type) Mortgage loans grew at a slower rate and other types of loans fell more rapidly from the previous month, leading to acceleration in the overall pace of the decline in household loans. - (Mortgage Loans) Mortgage loans rose KRW0.5 trillion in November, growing at a slower rate compared to the previous month (up KRW2.0 trillion), led by jeonse loans. - (Other Types of Loans) Other types of loans declined at a faster rate (down KRW3.6 trillion) compared to a month ago (down KRW2.2 trillion), led by a drop in credit loans. (By Sector) Household loans in the banking sector continued to drop while the nonbanking sector also saw a shift to a decline. - (Banking Sector) Banks saw a drop of KRW1.1 trillion in household loans. Mortgage loans from banks grew KRW1.0 trillion,rising at a slower rate compared to the previous month (up KRW1.3 trillion), as government-sponsored mortgage lending and group lending for new apartment subscription went up KRW2.6 trillion and KRW0.6 trillion, respectively. Other types of loans from banks fell KRW2.0 trillion, declining at a faster rate compared to the previous month (down KRW1.9 trillion), led by a drop in credit loans (down KRW1.8
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Nov 14, 2022

Single-stop Online Loan Transfer System to be Set Up to Reduce Interest Burden on Consumers

The FSC announced its plan to set up a single-stop online loan transfer system on November 14 to help alleviate the burden of high interest rates on financial consumers. With recent interest rate increases, it is necessary to find ways to lessen financial consumers interest costs.The FSC plans to facilitate loan transfer,as one of these ways, allowing financial consumers to more easily swap their present loans to reduced interest rate loans. Current Market Situation Currently, there is not a lot of products for loan transfers in the personal loan market because of inconvenience for the loan applicants and lack of a relevant infrastructure.In the first place, the absence of a fully integrated online system in financial institutions has required the payment of existing loans in the offline mode,which results in time and costs for both financial consumers and financial institutions. Second, since there are very few platforms offering comparison services for loans and because there is a limited amount of information, namely, accurate information on the current loan, the cost (various fees when transferring loan) and the benefits (savings generated from lower interest rate), which can help consumers make informed decisions, borrowers still have a difficult time making a decision about the loan transfer. The FSC announced its plan to set up a single-stop online loan transfer system on November 14 to help alleviate the burden of high interest rates on financial consumers. With recent interest rate increases, it is necessary to find ways to lessen financial consumers interest costs.The FSC plans to facilitate loan transfer,as one of these ways, allowing financial consumers to more easily swap their present loans to reduced interest rate loans. Key Details of Plan a) Build an online loan transfer system between financial institutions The payment of the loan, from the request of payment to the provision of the necessary information and to the final confirmation of the payment
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Nov 10, 2022

FSC Introduces Revision to Supervisory Regulations to Ease Financing Burden of Homebuyers

The FSC will give advance notices of revision to several supervisory regulations between November 10 and 16 as a follow-up action to implement the housing market-related measures introduced at the 11th emergency economic meeting held on October 27 and the 3rd ministerial meeting on housing market held earlier today. The revised supervisory regulations stated below are expected to take effect from December 1, 2022. a) The loan-to-value (LTV) ratio is currently applied differentially for no-home or one-home owners in regulated areasby different locations and different price of houses. This will be raised to uniform application of 50 percent. b) Allow no-home or one-home owners who plan to purchase an apartment valued over KRW1.5 billion in designated speculation areas and high-speculation areas to finance their house with a mortgage loan. c) Raise the top LTV ratio for lower income and non-speculative homebuyerswho plan to purchase a house in regulated areas to up to 70 percent with the maximum loan amount of KRW600 million. * Please refer to the attached PDF for details.
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Nov 09, 2022

Household Loans, October 2022

In October 2022, the outstanding balance of household loansacross all financial sectors fell KRW0.2 trillion (m-o-m), declining for the second consecutive month from a month ago (down KRW1.2 trillion).Financial authorities will swiftly roll back relevant loan regulations to help alleviate difficulties of non-speculative homebuyers. At the same time, authorities will stably manage the grow rate of household debt. (Overall) Household loans across all financial sectors dropped KRW0.2 trillion in October. The growth rate (y-o-y) was 0.2 percent which continues to show a downward trend since the second half of 2021. (By Type) Mortgage loans increased at a faster rate than the previous month and other types of loans fell at a slower rate, leading to a slowdown in the pace of an overall decline in household loans. - (Mortgage Loans) Mortgage loans rose KRW2.0 trillion in October, growing at a slightly faster rate compared to the previous month (up KRW1.9 trillion), led by group lending for new apartment subscription. - (Other Types of Loans) Other types of loans fell at a slower rate (down KRW2.2 trillion) compared to a month ago (down KRW3.1 trillion), led by a drop in credit loans. (By Sector) Overall household loans edged down as nonbanks saw a growth and banks maintained a declining trend. - (Banking Sector) Banks saw a drop of KRW0.6 trillion in household loans. Mortgage loans from banks grew KRW1.3 trillion,rising at a faster rate than the previous month (up KRW0.9 trillion), as government-sponsored mortgage lending and group lending for new apartment subscription went up KRW1.0 trillion and KRW0.7 trillion, respectively. Other types of loans from banks fell KRW1.9 trillion, declining at a slower rate than the previous month (down KRW2.1 trillion), led by a drop in credit loans (down KRW1.6 trillion). (Nonbanking Sector) In October, nonbanks saw an increase of KRW0.4 trillion inhousehold loans with declines in mutual finance (down KRW0.4 trillion) and specialized cre
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Oct 13, 2022

Household Loans, September 2022

In September 2022, the outstanding balance of household loansacross all financial sectors fell KRW1.3 trillion (m-o-m). It edged back lower again from the increased one of last month and sustains a stable level overall.Financial authorities will manage to keep the growth rate of household debt stable while making continuous efforts to alleviate financial burdens of low income households and non-speculative homebuyers. (Overall) Household loans across all financial sectors declined KRW1.3 trillion last month. The growth (y-o-y) was 0.6 percent which continued to slow since the second half of 2021. (By Type) Mortgage loans increased at a slower rate than the previous month and other types of loans fell at a faster rate, leading to an overall drop in household loans. - (Mortgage Loans) Mortgage loans rose KRW2.0 trillion in September, growing at a slower rate compared to the previous month (up KRW2.7 trillion), as group lending for new apartment subscription fell from KRW1.2 trillion to KRW0.5 trillion. - (Other Types of Loans) Other types of loans fell KRW3.3 trillion, declining significantly from the previous month (down KRW1.8 trillion), due to a drop in credit loans. (By Sector) Household loans edged back down in both the banking and nonbanking sectors. - (Banking Sector) Banks saw a drop of KRW1.2 trillion in household loans. Mortgage loans from banks grew KRW0.9 trillion,rising at a slower rate than the previous month (up KRW1.6 trillion), as jeonse loans and group lending for new apartment subscription went up KRW0.6 trillion and KRW0.5 trillion, respectively. Other types of loans from banks fell KRW2.1 trillion, declining at a faster rate than the previous month (down KRW1.3 trillion), as credit loans dropped KRW1.8 trillion. - (Nonbanking Sector) In September, nonbanks saw a drop of KRW0.1 trillion in household loans with increases in insurance companies (up KRW0.6 trillion) and savings banks (up KRW0.2 trillion) and declines in mutual finance (down KRW0.5 tri
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Oct 07, 2022

FSC to Overhaul Accounting Regs to Ease Burden on SMEs while Ensuring Accounting Transparency

The FSC prepared measures to overhaul the accounting regulations to make them more SME-friendly and to support SMEs better comply with the accounting and external audit regulations. The key measures include (a) exempting small-sized listed firms (less than KRW100 billion in asset) from external audit requirement for their internal accounting control systems, (b) launching and operating an accounting support center for SMEs at the Korea Exchange (KRX), (c) reducing the scope of large unlisted firms that are subject to the same accounting regulations in place for listed firms and (d) applying a simplified auditing standard for non-listed small firms. In line with the regulatory improvements, the FSC will also strengthen the responsibility of executive officers over internal control of accounting practices and raise incentives for whistleblowing on accounting frauds within a company. For this, disclosure on the internal accounting control system will be improved substantially and the reward amount for whistleblowers will be increased significantly (by three times). Background The accounting and external auditing regulations in Korea have been designed and developed with the focus on large listed companieswhere the need for investor protection is high. SMEs have been subject to similar accounting and external auditing regulations with the large companies despite their smaller scale in terms of the size of interested parties like investors. This has resulted in relatively higher compliance burden on SMEs. As such, it has been pointed out that there is more cost than benefit in applying the same accounting regulations to SMEs. Moreover, it should be taken into account that the accounting reform of 2018 imposes financial burdens more on SMEs which usually have relatively lower profitability. The government has listened to headaches of SMEs, discussed with experts and interested parties and reached the following proposals. An in-depth discussion followed at the 3rd financia
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Sep 29, 2022

Financial Measures to Stamp Out Vishing Scams

The FSC introduced financial measures to stamp out vishing scams. The measures include the suspension of payment from the account exploited for fraud and the suspension of money transfer from accounts for first three days since joining open banking made through non-face-to-face process. Background In 2021, there were 30,900 cases of vishing scams. As the amount of monetary damages incurred to victims rose to about KRW774.4 billion,vishing scams pose a serious threat to the society. Since December 2021, the Office for Government Policy Coordination, the Prime Ministers Secretariat organized and has operated a government-wide joint taskforce to draw up government-wide policy responses to vishing scams and to pursue intensive crackdowns and investigations led by the National Police Agency and a special joint investigation team. After consultation with the ruling party and multi-ministry taskforce meetings, the government prepared a package of detailed response measures tailored for the telecommunications and financial sectors. The following are financial sector measures. Key Details of Financial Sector Measures I. Suspend Payment from an Account Exploited for Face-to-face Vishing Scams a) Revise some provision of the Special Act on the Prevention of Loss Caused by Telecommunications-based Financial Fraud and Refund for Loss (the Special Act hereinafter) to enable investigative authorities to immediately request suspension of payment from an account exploited for face-to-face vishing scam to financial institutions as soon as they make an arrest on the spot. II. Lower the Maximum Cash Deposit through ATMs without Card or Bankbook a) Lower the upper limit of cash deposit at ATMs (automatic teller machines) requiring no card or bankbookto KRW500,000 per transaction from the current level of KRW1 million per transaction. This is to prevent transfers of fraudulently obtained cash through cash deposit at ATMs. b) Limit the maximum daily amount withdrawable from the unlimited
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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 08, 2022

Household Loans, August 2022

In August 2022, the outstanding balance of household loansacross all financial sectors rose KRW0.7 trillion, edging back up slightly from a decline in the previous month but maintaining a stable level overall.The financial authorities will continue to monitor the household debt growth to ensure that it is maintained at a stable level in order to help prevent it from posing risk to the economy. (Overall) Household loans across all financial sectors rose KRW0.7 trillion in August 2022. The growth rate (up 1.2%, y-o-y) has continued to slow down since the second half of 2021. (By Type) Mortgage loans grew at a slightly faster pace than the previous month and other types of loans fell at a slower rate, leading to an overall increase in the balance of household loans. - (Mortgage Loans) Mortgage-backed loans rose KRW2.8 trillion in August, edging up slightly faster than the previous month (up KRW2.5 trillion), as group lending for new apartment subscription increased. - (Other Types of Loans) Other types of loans dropped KRW2.1 trillion in August, edging down at a slower rate compared with the previous month (down KRW3.4 trillion), as credit loans and non-housing collateral loans declined. (By Sector) Household loans increased from the previous month in most sectors but showed a continuous trend of slowdown in the mutual finance sector (down KRW0.5 trillion) with a drop in nonmortgage loans. - (Banking Sector) Banks saw a rise of KRW0.3 trillion in household loans. Mortgage loans from banks grew KRW1.6 trillion,rising at a slower rate than the previous month (up KRW2.0 trillion), with group lending for new apartment subscription and jeonse loans going up KRW1.2 trillion and KRW0.9 trillion, respectively. Other types of loans fell KRW1.3 trillion, declining at a slower rate from a month ago (down KRW2.3 trillion), with credit loans edging down KRW0.9 trillion. - (Non-Banking Sector) In August, nonbanks saw an increase of KRW0.4 trillion in household loans, led by savings
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Aug 10, 2022

Household Loans, July 2022

In July 2022, the outstanding balance of household loansacross all financial sectors fell KRW1.0 trillion, showing a stable trend as the growth seen in Q2 turned back lower.The financial authorities will make efforts for a stable management of the household debt growth while working on effective implementation of the normalization of household loan regulations to help alleviate financing difficulties of non-speculative homebuyers. (Overall) Household loans across all financial sectors dropped KRW1.0 trillion in July 2022. The growth rate (up 1.7%, y-o-y) has continued to stay on a downward path since the second half of 2021. (By Type) Mortgage loans expanded at a slower pace than the previous month and other types of loans dropped at a greater level, contributing to the overall decline in household loans. - (Mortgage Loans) Mortgage-backed loans rose KRW2.5 trillion in July, slowing down from KRW2.8 trillion in the previous month. - (Other Types of Loans) Other types of loans dropped KRW3.6 trillion in July, falling at a faster rate compared with the previous month (down KRW2.1 trillion). (By Sector) Household loans in both the banking and non-banking sectors turned lower, but the growth trend continued in the savings bank (up KRW0.4 trillion) and insurance (up KRW0.2 trillion) sectors. - (Banking Sector) Banks saw a drop of KRW0.3 trillion in household loans. Mortgage loans from banks grew KRW2.0 trillion,rising from KRW1.4 trillion a month ago, as group lending for new apartment subscription and jeonse loans rose KRW1.3 trillion and KRW1.1 trillion, respectively. Other types of loans fell KRW2.2 trillion, declining at a faster rate from a month ago (down KRW1.2 trillion) as credit loans fell KRW1.9 trillion. -(Non-Banking Sector) In July, nonbanks saw a drop of KRW0.8 trillion in household loans, led by declines in the mutual finance (down KRW1.2 trillion) and specialized credit finance (down KRW0.2 trillion) sectors. (Assessment) Household loans across all financ
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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 12, 2022

Household Loans, June 2022

The outstanding balance of household loansacross all financial sectors rose KRW0.7 trillion in June 2022 with the pace of growth falling from the previous month (up KRW1.7 trillion).The trends in household loan continue to be on a stable path as the statistics for all financial sectors in H1 2022 fell (down KRW0.8 trillion) for the first time since the half-year statistics first became available in 2015.The financial authorities will continue to make efforts for a soft-landing of the household debt issue as there are possibilities of growing burdens on borrowers and risks to financial companies due to interest rate hikes. (Overall) Household loans in June 2022 increased KRW0.7 trillion across all financial sectors. The growth rate (up 2.7%, y-o-y), which fell back lower from a slight increase seen in the previous month, continued to stay on a downward path since the second half of 2021. (By Type) Mortgage loans grew at a faster rate compared with the previous month, but other types of loans dropped considerably to bring down the overall household loan growth level. - (Mortgage Loans) Mortgage-backed loans rose KRW2.8 trillion in June, growing at a faster rate from the previous month (up KRW1.5 trillion) due to brisk lending by banks and the mutual finance sector. - (Other Types of Loans) Other types of loans dropped KRW2.1 trillion in June, edging back lower from a temporary hike in the previous month as credit loans and non-housing collateral lending declined. (By Sector) Household loans in both the banking and non-banking sectors saw a slowdown in the growth level, but the downward trend seen throughout this year in the mutual finance sector has turned upward. -(Banking Sector) Banks saw an increase of KRW0.2 trillion in household loans, declining slightly from the previous month (up KRW0.3 trillion). Mortgage loans from banks rose KRW1.4 trillion,growing at a faster rate compared with the previous month (up KRW0.8 trillion), as jeonse loans (up KRW0.9 trillion) a
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Jun 13, 2022

Household Loans, May 2022

The outstanding balance of household loansin all financial sectors rose KRW1.8 trillion in May 2022, staying at a stable level despite a slight increase from the previous month (up KRW1.2 trillion).The financial authorities will continue to work on stably managing the growth of household debt. (Overall) Household loans in May 2022 increased KRW1.8 trillion across all financial sectors. The growth rate from the same month of the previous year was 3.4 percent, showing a halt in the declining trend seen from the second half of the previous year, but staying at a stable level in general. (By Type) Mortgage loans grew at a slower rate from the previous month but other types of loans including credit loans edged up slightly for the first time this year. - (Mortgage Loans) Mortgage-backed loans rose KRW1.6 trillion in May, showing a slowdown from the previous month due mainly to a drop in group lending for new apartment subscription (from KRW1.1 trillion to KRW0.2 trillion). - (Other Types of Loans) Other types of loans increased KRW0.2 trillion in May, edging up for the first time following a continued decline since the end of the previous year, with a growth in credit loans. (By Sector) Household loans in the banking sector went up at a slower rate compared to a month ago but the pace of the growth accelerated in the non-banking sector as credit finance companies and savings banks saw increases. - (Banking Sector) Banks saw an increase of KRW0.4 trillion in household loans, showing a decline from the previous month (up KRW1.2 trillion). Mortgage loans from banks rose KRW0.8 trillion,growing at a slower rate compared to the previous month (up KRW2.0 trillion), as jeonse loans expanded (up KRW1.1 trillion) but group lending for new apartment subscription edged lower (up KRW0.2 trillion). Other types of loans declined KRW0.5 trillion and fell at a slower rate compared to the previous month (down KRW0.9 trillion) as credit loans edged down KRW0.2 trillion. -(Non-Banking Sect
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Jun 03, 2022

Accounting Review Process to be Made More Expeditious and Transparent

The FSC introduced a plan to bring about improvements to the accounting review process with aims to prevent the prolonging of the review process and to ensure the protection of the right to defense for businesses undergoing scrutiny during the review process by the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). The period of the review process will be one year in principle with a six-month extension allowed upon approval from Governor of the FSS for unavoidable reasons. To guarantee the right to defense for businesses undergoing scrutiny, improvements will be made to the contents of the prior notification form and the period for which businesses can access the QA document will be extended. Background An accounting review (or inspection) examines whether a companys financial statement and audit report have been prepared properly according to the relevant accounting and auditing standards. It is a supervisory function that seeks to protect various stakeholders such as investors and to encourage sound business management activities as well. Accounting review is an important aspect to bringing about innovation in capital markets and improving investor trust.Transparency in capital markets begins with the accuracy and promptness in the accounting information being disclosed and accounting review as a supervisory mechanism induces accurate accounting practices by businesses through identification and correction of inappropriate accounting information. In addition, under the principle-based IFRS system that recognizes diversity in accounting practices, accounting review provides guidance for businesses in conducting their accounting practices. The government has continued to make efforts to bring about improvements to the accounting review system since the accounting reform.With an introduction of the financial statement review system, the processing time for minor violations has been reduced considerably.The adoption of an adversary procedure during the review processhas helped to
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May 11, 2022

Household Loans, April 2022

The outstanding balance of household loansin all financial sectors rose KRW1.3 trillion in April 2022 as the decreasing trend seen since the beginning of this year came to a halt but staying at a stable level overall.The financial authorities will continue to closely monitor trends in household loans in order to help maintain its growth pace at a stable level and to prevent it from posing risk to the economy. (Overall) The household loan balance in April 2022 (up KRW1.3 trillion) edged up for the first time this year in contrast to a considerable drop observed in the previous month (down KRW3.6 trillion). However, the growth rate (up 3.1%, y-o-y) shows a continuing slowdown from the second half of the previous year. (By Type) Mortgage-backed loans went up slightly while other types of loans fell at a considerably slower rate, pushing up the total balance of household loans. Mortgage-backed loans in April rose KRW2.8 trillion, growing at a slightly slower rate compared to the previous month (up KRW3.0 trillion).Other types of loans edged down KRW1.6 trillion, declining at a significantly slower rate compared to the previous month (down KRW6.5 trillion), but keeping the trend of a slowdown from the end of last year. (By Sector) The balance of household loans edged up from the previous month in most sectors but the mutual finance sector (down KRW1.0 trillion) stayed on a downward trend due to a drop in non-mortgage types of loans. - (Banking Sector) The banking sector saw an overall increase of KRW1.2 trillion. Mortgage loans from banks rose KRW2.1 trillion, growing at a similar rate compared to the previous month (up KRW2.1 trillion).Other types of loans fell at a slower rate compared to a month ago (down KRW3.1 trillion), edging down KRW0.9 trillion as credit loans went down KRW0.5 trillion. -(Non-Banking Sector) In the non-banking sector, the household loan balance increased KRW0.1 trillion. Insurance companies (up KRW0.2 trillion), savings banks (up KRW0.3 trillion
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Apr 13, 2022

Household Loans, March 2022

The outstanding balance of household loansacross all financial sectors fell KRW3.6 trillion at the end of March 2022, continuing to show a steady decline as the pace of slowdown has picked up compared to the previous month (down KRW0.3 trillion).The balance of household loans in March grew 4.7 percent from a year ago, steadily declining from the second half of the previous year. By type, mortgage-backed loans in March increased KRW3.0 trillion,growing at a slightly faster rate compared to the previous month (up KRW2.6 trillion) but continuing to maintain the pace of a slowdown since the second half of the previous year. Other types of loans including unsecured loans fell KRW6.6 trillionled by the banking and mutual finance sectors, showing an accelerated pace of slowdown from the end of the previous year. By sector, the balance of household loans dropped KRW1.0 trillion in the banking sector as mortgage-backed loans went up KRW2.1 trillionbut other types of loans including credit-based loans fell KRW3.1 trillion.The nonbank sector saw a drop of KRW2.6 trillion, showing an accelerated rate of slowdown compared to the previous month (down KRW0.1 trillion) led by the mutual finance sectors. The trends in household loans continue to be on a stable path as the balance of household loans declined KRW3.6 trillion in March 2022 and fell considerably from the previous month. Although mortgage-backed loans increased KRW3.0 trillion, other types of loans including unsecured loans dropped significantly (down KRW6.5 trillion) due to increases in borrowing rates, an expanded application of the debt service ratio (DSR) rule on individual borrowers and a slowdown in housing transactions,leading to an expansion in the pace of slowdown in aggregate terms. The financial authorities will continue to closely monitor trends in household loans in order to help maintain its growth pace at a stable level. * Please refer to the attached PDF for details.
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