The announcement of the final organizational restructuring plan by the financial authorities appears to be imminent. The Presidential Committee on Policy Planning is reported to have settled on disbanding the Financial Services Commission and establishing the Financial Supervisory Commission, entering final coordination with the presidential office. However, the ongoing cautious debate regarding the dissolution of the Financial Services Commission remains a last-minute variable. Attention is focused on the final decision of President Lee Jae-myung, who publicly praised the Financial Services Commission twice while mentioning the 'June 27 household loan regulation.'
According to political and financial circles on the 18th, the Presidential Committee on Policy Planning plans to finalize the government organizational restructuring plan as early as this week and report to the president. The committee is working on transferring the financial policy functions of the Financial Services Commission to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and reviving the Financial Supervisory Commission by merging its financial supervisory functions with the FSS. In this case, the dissolution of the Financial Services Commission becomes inevitable. The basic plan is to establish a separate organization called the Financial Consumer Protection Agency to handle the consumer protection functions of the FSS.
The Presidential Committee on Policy Planning reported this draft organizational restructuring plan to the presidential office earlier this month; however, voices opposing the dissolution of the Financial Services Commission have emerged from within the presidential office, prolonging the negotiations. Former economic officials are said to have conveyed their concerns regarding the dissolution of the Financial Services Commission through various channels. A former senior official from the financial authorities noted, 'It is impossible for the FSS, a private entity, to oversee the financial supervisory functions mandated by the government organization law that was intended to be executed by the Financial Services Commission, a central administrative agency.' The official added, 'In theory, all 2,000 employees of the FSS would have to be made civil servants, which could lead to significant social expense,' and remarked that 'it is a challenging issue.'
Within and outside the Financial Services Commission, expectations are rising that the organizational restructuring might change, as President Lee Jae-myung recently praised the Financial Services Commission publicly. At a town hall meeting held in Daejeon on the 4th, the president addressed Kwon Dae-young, Secretary-General of the Financial Services Commission, saying, 'This person is the one. He is the one who created this real estate loan restriction measure,' and remarked, 'Well done.' Additionally, at the Cabinet meeting on the 15th, he praised Kim Byeong-hwan, Chairman of the Financial Services Commission, while emphasizing the achievements of the loan regulations.
However, it seems unlikely that the discussions on organizational restructuring will return to square one. A political source stated, 'While it is true that the president praised the Financial Services Commission for courageously managing significant tasks like the bad bank and the June 27 loan regulations, it seems unlikely that he will overturn his promises.'