FSC ombudsman committee chief vows to enhance consumer protection

Jang Beom-sik, finance professor at Soongsil University / Courtesy of FSC

By Anna J. Park

The Financial Services Commission (FSC) has recently tapped veteran finance professor Jang Beom-sik from Soongsil University to lead its five-member ombudsman committee for the next two years.

The chief financial regulator appointed the committee's four other members at the end of last month, after the previous members' two-year terms ended.

“I feel immense responsibility as I am assuming the role of leading the ombudsman committee as its chairman, especially as the Financial Consumer Protection Act has recently been passed by the National Assembly,” Jang said in an email interview with The Korea Times.

He vowed to proactively listen to customers' opinions asking for improvements in financial regulations, while overhauling institutional systems in the area of financial consumer protection.

“Specifically, I plan to invigorate sub-committees led by ombudsman committee members, each representing different sectors of the financial industry from banking and securities to insurance, in order to reflect concrete proposals into actual policies,” Jang said, adding that he would try his best to draw up tangible results.

Jang has held significant posts in the financial sector over the past decades, including being a board member of the KOSDAQ committee, a non-executive director at the Korea Exchange and head of the Korean Securities Association, as well as holding outside director positions at many securities firms in Korea.

The FSC's ombudsman committee, comprised of five finance experts from the private sector, was launched in 2016, aiming to improve financial regulations to meet the needs of various customers.

During the last four years, the ombudsman committee took the lead in 87 improvements in financial regulations, such as streamlining bulky processes at financial institutions, for the benefit of customers.