Anna Jiwon Park has been covering the politics at The Korea Times since the summer of 2024, when she joined the press pool for the Office of the President in Korea. Prior to that, she spent about five years reporting extensively on financial markets, regulatory authorities and the financial industry. She joined The Korea Times in 2019 after spending eight years as a broadcast journalist at Arirang TV, Korea’s leading global broadcaster, covering politics, defense and culture.
FSS chief vows support for fintech businesses with deregulation
Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) Governor Lee Bok-hyun speaks during a meeting with fintech leaders in Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of FSS
By Anna J. Park
By Anna J. Park
The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) chief vowed to support local fintech businesses by loosening up regulations.
During a meeting with fintech company leaders on Tuesday, FSS Governor Lee Bok-hyun pledged not to impose governmental guidelines when it comes to the fintech businesses' easy payment commission fees.
“Commission fees should be decided voluntarily by market participants, and the financial authority does not intend to intervene in the matter,” Lee said during the meeting.
Among those present were Naver Financial CEO Park Sang-jin, Kakao Pay CEO Shin Won-keun, Viva Republica (Toss) CEO Lee Seung-gun, Music Cow CEO Jung Hyun-kyung, Small Ticket CEO Kim Jung-eun and Korea Fintech Industry Association (KORFIN) Chairman Lee Keun-ju.
Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) Governor Lee Bok-hyun, front row fourth from left, poses for a photo with fintech business CEOs during a meeting held in Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of FSS
The FSS chief also announced plans for a regulatory sandbox, through which innovative financial platforms will be allowed to compare and recommend various financial products, ranging from insurance plans to savings deposits.
“The FSS is planning to operate the regulatory sandbox in order to foster rich development of digital finances in the country. Financial platform businesses could be able to provide customer-tailored services and products for consumers,” Lee said.
Yet, he stressed the need for algorithmic and private information protection to enable responsible financial innovation.
“I'd like to emphasize that fintech businesses should make sure that their algorithms make consumer benefits their priority, not the platform businesses' profits,” Lee said.