FSS governor vows to 'develop and refine' Korea's Value-up plan

Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) Gov. Lee Bok-hyun delivers remarks during the FSS Speaks forum Thursday in western Seoul. [FSS]

The chief of Korea’s financial regulator vowed to bolster Korea's market with the latest “Value-up” plan during a forum attended by foreign financial firms and ambassadors.

“As we work to contribute to the economy by fostering a sound and fair financial environment, we also aim to boost Korea’s attractiveness as an investment destination,” said Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) Gov. Lee Bok-hyun in his opening remarks at the FSS Speaks forum in western Seoul on Thursday.

“This means promoting market practices that allow Korean companies to be valued correctly by their financial health and industry outlook,” said Lee, promising to “further develop and refine the government’s Corporate Value-up program.”

In February, Korea’s financial authorities outlined the framework for the voluntary Value-up program aimed at resolving the chronic undervaluation of domestic stock prices, or “Korea discount.” The guidelines urged public companies to improve the transparency of their governance structures and shareholder return policies.

This year’s annual forum, now in its 16th edition, was themed “Toward Sound and Fair Finance,” with some 230 attendees present.
Guests included ambassadors and officials from 10 countries — such as U.S. Ambassador to Korea Philip Seth Goldberg, Chinese Ambassador to Korea Xing Haiming, British Ambassador to Korea Colin Crooks, Japanese Ambassador to Korea Koichi Aiboshi and French Ambassador to Korea Philippe Bertoux — as well as representatives from overseas financial firms operating in the country.

The FSS chief promised to remove unnecessary red tape in the market but also reiterated his commitment to rooting out illegal practices.

“We will also step up our efforts to overhaul excessive regulation and open doors to innovation,” Lee said.

The governor added that “these efforts, however, will not amount to much if we fail to maintain financial stability and consumer trust,” stressing that “prudential regulation and protecting the integrity and fairness of the market will remain our strategic focus.”

During the presentation session on global economic projections, Jason Allford, special representative from World Bank Group's Korea Office, forecast that the current slow pace of economic growth would continue through this year, saying that “from 2020 to 2024, growth will be lower on average across those five years than it has been in any five-year period since the early 1990s.”

Allford cited geopolitical tensions, high interest rates, trade fragmentation and food and energy market disruptions as factors driving uncertainty in the current economic situation. He named high government debt and climate risks as major policy challenges.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]