Park Jae-hyuk is a seasoned journalist who has provided comprehensive coverage of South Korea's corporate dynamics, economic policies, industry challenges and the global positioning of Korean companies. Based on the articles he has written since joining The Korea Times in 2016, his investigative approach has helped readers understand corporate governance, economic trends and business strategies shaping South Korea’s economy.
INTERVIEW Ex-education minister teaches finance to senior citizens
Senior Financial Education Council (SFEC) CEO Yoon Deok-hong / Courtesy of SFEC
By Park Jae-hyuk
By Park Jae-hyuk
The biggest issue in the nation's financial industry last year was the fiasco related to derivative-linked funds (DLFs) that led Woori Bank and KEB Hana Bank customers to lose a massive amount of money.
This incident has raised awareness of the importance of financial education for senior citizens as it was found that people aged over 90 or those suffering dementia were among victims of the banks' mis-selling of the high-risk financial products.
Yoon Deok-hong, the CEO of the Senior Financial Education Council (SFEC), is a person who has been tasked with this important mission.
He was the education minister in 2003 under the previous Roh Moo-hyun administration.
Although the former minister had never built his career in the financial sector, he began leading the council which was established in 2018 as a corporation under the Financial Services Commission for the purpose of protecting older financial consumers' rights through education.
In 2019, the council taught about digital finance, types of financial fraud and asset management to over 12,000 senior citizens.
“Although digital finance has continued its development, senior citizens have not been good at learning about and using information technology,” Yoon told The Korea Times in a recent written interview.
“The digital divide has become a social problem. Against this backdrop, financial education for senior citizens has emerged as another field of education.”
According to the SFEC, those aged 90 and older account for more than half of victims of financial fraud impersonating prosecutors, police and financial authorities.
Older people also accounted for a large proportion of DLF investors, because banks claimed profitability and safety to lure those who were concerned about living after retirements.
In this regard, Yoon agreed with the necessity of regulations for old people, but he said financial education should be top priority in order to prevent the recurrence of a similar tragedy.
“A Korea Institute of Finance study showed Korea has the highest proportion of self-assertive consumers without financial knowledge,” he said.
“This type of consumers were most prone to financial fraud. They tended to ignore or misunderstand information about the risks inherent in financial products, although they had access to the information.”
Yoon therefore urged policymakers to take measures to protect older financial consumers.
The 72-year-old also asked young people to understand the difficulties that people of his age are facing when doing financial transactions.
“The younger generation may not understand senior citizens, but trying to understand them is a wise way to live in this aging society,” he said.
“Because everyone gets old.”