Having averted the risk of being dismantled, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) will push its own overhaul of staffing and structure. Although the workload is heavy for its size and adding headcount is not easy, the plan is to reshape it into an organization that delivers maximum efficiency.
According to the financial sector on the 19th, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) on the 14th commissioned a policy study on the "plan to innovate the Financial Services Commission's organization in response to changes in the financial environment." The Financial Services Commission (FSC) plans to identify and analyze organizational changes since its launch in 2008 and review organizational and staffing operations tailored to its expanded duties. The study will be completed in April next year.
The Financial Services Commission (FSC) said that a redesign of organizational functions is needed to effectively pursue the "great financial transition," including productive finance, consumer-centered finance, and trustworthy finance. The Financial Services Commission (FSC) planned early on to restructure its staffing and organization, but the effort was somewhat delayed by discussions on a government reorganization. The government had reviewed a plan to transfer the Financial Services Commission (FSC)'s policy function to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance and its supervisory function to the Financial Supervisory Commission, but ultimately decided to maintain the current structure.
The Financial Services Commission (FSC) handles both financial policy and supervision, but with an authorized headcount of 342, it is small compared with major ministries. Recently, its remit has expanded to the virtual asset sector, and it has emerged as the core body expected to lead the 150 trillion won National Growth Fund. The Lee Jae-myung administration is looking to advance key policies—such as promoting high-tech industries, revitalizing capital markets, and measures for real estate—through the Financial Services Commission (FSC), placing a heavy burden on the commission.
The Financial Services Commission (FSC) has expanded its organization or added needed staff through ad hoc changes to its table of organization. In 2022, to eradicate securities crime, it expanded the Capital Markets Investigation Team into two Director-level departments, and last year it formalized the Financial Innovation Planning Team, which had been a temporary unit for six years, into the Digital Finance Policy Bureau and created a Virtual Assets Division under it, adding eight people.
The Financial Services Commission (FSC) is discussing with related ministries a plan to reorganize the Capital Markets Coordination Division and the Capital Markets Division, which handle unfair transactions, into Director General-level units. It is also discussing a plan to operate the Industrial Finance Division, which oversees the National Growth Fund, as a temporary Director General-level unit by seconding personnel from other ministries.
Expanding the organization is not easy because it requires the consent of related ministries. A financial authorities official said, "Because we are a small organization with a heavy workload, we are looking for ways to effectively carry out key national tasks and other major pending issues."