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.
FSC-FSS heads' cozy relationship breaks from past distrust
Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Kim Joo-hyun, left, talks with Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) Governor Lee Bok-hyun during a parliamentary meeting held at the National Assembly in Seoul, Dec. 6. Yonhap
By Anna J. Park
Friendly cooperation assessed to raise policy coordination effect
By Anna J. Park
For those who remember the uncomfortable relationship between the heads of the country's top financial regulator Financial Services Commission (FSC) and financial watchdog agency, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) over the past decade, the current harmonious relationship between the two leaders of the separate financial authorities is a pretty rare scene to witness.
According to the financial industry, Monday, FSS Governor Lee Bok-hyun made a surprise visit to an FSC employees' year-end gathering at a dinner held last Wednesday, as Lee heard that FSC chief Kim would also be attending the event. Lee was accompanied by three other high-ranking FSS officials.
It's been said that the two leaders were cozying up at the recent gathering. This newfound close cooperation was also a key factor in the smooth management of a recent credit crunch crisis in the country's corporate bonds market.
Lee's visit to the FSC dinner gathering is seen as a huge surprise by industry insiders, as it is the first time that an FSS governor has attended a social gathering meeting hosted by FSC employees since the two institutes were officially launched back in 2008.
Since the country's financial regulator was split into the two agencies in 2008, taking responsibility respectively for drawing up financial policies and conducting supervision, the two have mostly been in a sour relationship due to some overlapping functions and roles. While former heads of the agencies have tried to persuade the public about their close cooperation, they mostly failed, with frequent problems showcasing the two agencies' conflicting positions over their desired policies or penalties over financial issues.
Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Kim Joo-hyun, left, talks with Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) Governor Lee Bok-hyun during a macroeconomic meeting held in central Seoul, Nov. 28. Newsis
Considering the past cases, market watchers were suspicious as to whether 50-year-old Lee, who used to be a star prosecutor with expertise in financial crimes, would get along with 64-year-old Kim, a life-long experienced financial official, over the government's financial policies.
However, the two have shown a mutually respectful chemistry from the outset, dispelling such doubts. Since Lee's taking office as FSS governor in early June and Kim took the helm of the FSC in early July, the two have been meeting each other about five times a week, almost every day.
Especially since mid-October when the country's corporate bonds market faced a possible credit crunch over the aftermath of the Legoland Korea crisis, the two had met more than twice a day on many weekdays and weekends. Still, FSS chief Lee is said to seek Kim's advice and insights in separate personal gatherings with him.
Market watchers view the two leaders' peaceful and close consultative relationship positively, as it is estimated to raise the effectiveness of policy coordination, which is deemed vital to addressing the current external economic uncertainties facing the Korean economy.