Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Lee Eok-won held a meeting with heads of Korean corporate subsidiaries during a business trip to Vietnam on November 22, discussing financial support measures. At the time, Lee was accompanying President Lee Jae-myung on his overseas tour to Vietnam and India.
During visits to the two countries, Lee carried out numerous financial agenda items, including meetings with India's finance minister and the governor of the State Bank of Vietnam, a memorandum of understanding with Indian authorities on revitalizing financial hubs, local financial cooperation forums, and partnerships on linking QR-based payment systems with Vietnam and India. Lee's determination was said to be strong in visiting local companies even amid this packed schedule.
About a week later, on November 27, FSC Vice Chairman Kwon Dae-young visited Hanwha Philly Shipyard in Philadelphia, US. The Philly Shipyard is regarded as a symbol of "MASGA" (Make American Shipbuilding Great Again), a Korea-US shipbuilding cooperation project.
"In an era when the technology hegemony war determines the economy, industry, and even security, supporting national strategic technologies such as shipbuilding and defense is not a choice but a necessity," Kwon stressed. "We will actively support our national strategic technologies so they can continuously secure global competitiveness, together with policy financial institutions such as the Korea Development Bank and the Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK)."
The FSC is gradually expanding its points of contact with businesses. Analysts say this comes as financial policy is emerging as a key tool amid the revival of industrial policy in various countries. "Chairman Lee is known to have a strong interest in industrial field sites," a source familiar with financial authorities said Monday. "As the need for industrial policy grows, the role of finance is also being highlighted."
A scene that well illustrates this was the "5th Productive Finance Grand Transformation Meeting" held on November 16. Announcing measures to rationalize capital regulations in the banking and insurance sectors, Lee explained that "this measure is a kind of policy supplementary budget." At the time, the FSC announced it would create a total of 99 trillion won in corporate financing capacity for the financial industry through capital regulation easing measures, including reducing the penalty period for major and mid-sized financial accidents from 10 years to a minimum of three years.
A financial industry official likened this to a "Keynesian prescription." "Traditionally, financial authorities have tended to strengthen risk supervision during economic downturns," the official said. "But the current administration seems to recognize that rationalizing risk regulations to a certain extent and increasing fund supply will help restore corporate strength and have a positive impact on the soundness of financial institutions in the medium to long term."
The fact that the authorities are operating the 150 trillion won National Growth Fund is also a backdrop to the financial regulator's growing interest in industry. Lee actually visited companies and local government officials in the Honam and Chungcheong regions on February 11-12 to revitalize regional finance and explore investment plans for the National Growth Fund.
Kwon then visited businesses in the Gyeongbuk and Gyeongnam regions on February 26-27 to hear suggestions related to National Growth Fund investments. FSC Secretary General Shin Jin-chang introduced the National Growth Fund and preferential regional financial support measures in Gangwon State on November 3.
The top three officials of the FSC have successively visited regional industrial sites to explore financial support measures. "Given that major financial institutions are concentrated in Seoul, it is unusual for senior FSC officials to make consecutive field visits to the provinces like this," a financial industry official noted.
The FSC is also demonstrating its presence in the Middle East situation. A representative example is Lee's recent series of meetings with construction, petrochemical, and steel companies to exchange views. Regarding the Middle East situation, the FSC is overseeing a 25.6 trillion won policy financing program and more than 53 trillion won in private sector financial support measures. The Korea Credit Guarantee Fund's Primary Collateralized Bond Obligations (P-CBO) support is also managed by the FSC.
