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| Financial Supervisory Service Governor Yoon Suk-heun speaks at a forum on digital transformation hosted by the Korea Times in Seoul, Wednesday. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul |
By Kim Bo-eun
The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) will seek to narrow down the digital divide as part of efforts to reduce risks arising in an era where finance and technology are merging, the chief of the regulator said Wednesday.
"We need to create more programs to encourage seniors and financially vulnerable consumers to get more access to the benefits of digital banking," FSS Governor Yoon Suk-heun said at a forum on digital transformation hosted by The Korea Times in Seoul, Wednesday.
Yoon referenced a U.S. financial firm's creation of a program called "Ready, Set, Bank" that offers video tutorials to help its elderly customers get familiar with online banking, noting Korea lacks such educational tools.
The FSS will also see that consumers are protected as the development of fintech provides room for sophisticated scams that exploit technology, the governor said.
"We will put efforts into promoting responsible innovation of fintech firms and financial institutions," he said. "We will encourage financial firms to establish a strong internal control system."
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He said the FSS will review the operation of an information protection committee, as a means to strengthen self-compliance by firms.
At the same time, Yoon said the regulator will seek to ensure safety.
"We will come up with an off-site monitoring system to prevent systematic risks arising from fintech," he said, stating the need for a system that can collect and analyze data from the fintech industry and markets.
The FSS also plans to utilize supervisory and regulatory technology "suptech" and "regtech" to strengthen its capabilities.
"The FSS will continue to work to identify areas where fintech development requires regulatory support and actively update and upgrade the regulatory framework," the governor said.
Yoon said the financial supervisory authorities have been working to foster fintech by removing regulatory hurdles through measures such as adopting a regulatory sandbox. In addition, they are supporting fintech firms in their beginning and growth stages by offering consulting services through a fintech advisory team, he said.
Yoon, a seasoned scholar in finance, assumed his position in May 2018 and is serving a three-year term. He previously chaired committees under the Financial Services Commission, and taught at a number of schools including McGill University in Canada and Seoul National University.
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