#. A person with a disability, referred to as Mr. A, learned about the 'tax-exempt comprehensive savings plan' and tried to join online. However, the securities company responded that a visit to a branch was absolutely necessary. The closest securities company branch for him, living in a small area, was more than an hour round trip by public transport.
Mr. A said, "I need assistance to move far, but it's not easy to find support," and noted, "The threshold for joining the tax-exempt comprehensive savings plan seems too high."
The Financial Supervisory Service announced on the 8th that it has decided to establish non-face-to-face subscription procedures for people with disabilities like Mr. A, who find it difficult to visit branches, in collaboration with the Korea Financial Investment Association and the securities industry.
The tax-exempt comprehensive savings account is a product that can be subscribed to by specific groups, including people with disabilities, seniors over 65, and national independence patriots, at financial institutions. It is recognized as a representative tax support product as it imposes no taxes on interest and dividends accrued up to 50 million won per person across all financial institutions.
The problem is that among the 23 securities companies that handle the tax-exempt comprehensive savings account, 20 (87%) require a visit to a branch when subscribing. Until now, only Samsung Securities and Kiwoom Securities had allowed non-face-to-face subscriptions.
As related complaints continued, all securities companies have committed to establish non-face-to-face subscription procedures for the disability tax-exempt comprehensive savings account by 2026. Seven companies, including DB Securities, iM Securities, KB Securities, Kyobo Securities, Shinhan Investment Corp., Securities Finance, and Cape Securities, plan to build related systems in the fourth quarter of this year (Oct.-Dec.).
The Financial Supervisory Service and the securities industry plan to gradually expand the non-face-to-face subscription eligibility for the tax-exempt comprehensive savings account, starting with people with disabilities, to include seniors over 65, basic livelihood recipients, and national independence patriots. They also decided to develop a more convenient subscription process using public MyData, etc.
A representative of the Financial Supervisory Service stated, "In the future, we will continue to identify system improvements so that people with disabilities and others can use financial investment services without inconvenience."