House Steering Committee Urges Government to Stablize Fiancial Market

The House Steering Committee of the National Assembly asked Lee Jung-jae, the vice chairman of the Financial Supervisory Commission, about governmental policy's responsibilities in stabilizing financial markets, including concerns of insolvency of investment trust companies and additional injections of public funds.

Lawmakers from the ruling and opposition parties are accusing Lee of creating, "...ineffective countermeasure plans for finance authorities which create moral hazards for financial institutions and companies. Furthermore, it raises concerns of a possible second economic crisis."

Kwon Yong-ja, a lawmaker from the Grand National Party, pointed that, "The crisis in investment trust companies is aggravated by the government's delinquency in selling off Hannam Investment Trust quickly." Kwon also questioned, "When does the government become responsible for the insolvency of financial institutions?"

Kim Yong-sun of the GNP commented, "The recent insecure financial conditions were caused by the government losing the trust of our people." Kim then asked, "Is it really true that an additional 20 trillion won would conclude financial restructuring?"

Kim Min-sok of the MDP also emphasized that, "The government never revealed the detailed uses of the fund, even though they requested additional public funds. The government must release the detailed plan for the use of these funds and gain the approval of the National Assembly in order to win the support of the nation."

by Lee Soo-ho