 |
| The headquarters of Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) in Yeouido, Seoul / Yonhap |
By Anna J. Park
Many recent retirees of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), the country's financial watchdog agency, have found their next position at big law firms, data showed.
According to the FSS data submitted to Rep. Yun Chang-hyun of the ruling People Power Party, 207 people out of a total 793 FSS retirees during the past 10 years underwent evaluation by the government's ethics committee for public officials' reemployment, and 190 of those cases were approved.
The Public Service Ethics Act states that FSS employees at senior levels cannot be reemployed in financial companies for three years from the date of retirement. Exceptions can be allowed when there is no relevant connection between the duties performed at the FSS during the last five years before retirement and the duties at a prospective employer.
Among the FSS retirees' next destinations, Kim & Chang, Korea's largest law firm, turned out to be the most popular place for reemployment, with 11 people being rehired from 2020 to 2022. Other major firms, including Lee & Ko, Bae, Kim & Lee, and Yulchon LLC, were also popular. Eight retirees from the FSS found work at Lee & Ko, and four each at Bae, Kim & Lee and Yulchon LLC.
A noteworthy trend among FSS retirees is that more of them opt to go to financial companies that used to be under the supervision of the FSS. All of the 22 retirees who were granted reemployment approval from the government this year were rehired by financial companies, including banks, financial holdings companies, securities firms, savings banks and accounting firms.
"The reemployment of former FSS employees should be conducted in a way that their level of compliance with ethics regulations could be shared with the private sector," Rep. Yun Chang-hyun said, emphasizing that a potential possibility of these retirees becoming lobbyists for financial firms should be prevented through internal systems.
![[INTERVIEW] Hip-hop group Uptown returns after 13 years with new lineup](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/0eae35da5e9c40c38cf439e550a2eb3e.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
![[INTERVIEW] ASTRO members aim to shine in musical theater](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/df16760dc50f469d93434f66a069465c.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
