The Financial Supervisory Service set investor protection systems and the strengthening of productive finance and competitiveness as the basic supervisory direction for the securities industry. In particular, as market volatility and uncertainty at home and abroad have grown recently due to the Iran war, it asked the financial investment industry for preemptive risk management.
The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) held the 2026 financial investment institutional sector financial supervision briefing on the afternoon of the 10th at its Yeouido headquarters in Seoul. About 290 people, including officials from securities firms, asset managers, real estate trust companies and the Korea Financial Investment Association, attended.
At the briefing, officials listened to presentations by industry experts on supplying venture capital and strengthening internal controls, followed by an explanation of this year's supervisory and inspection direction for the financial investment institutional sector and a related Q&A session.
Seo Jae-wan, assistant deputy governor of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), said, "This year, we will seek a fundamental overhaul of the industry through a paradigm shift in financial supervision for preemptive investor protection."
Seo presented four broad inspection directions for this year: ▲ strengthening investor protection across the life cycle of high-risk financial investment products ▲ shifting to productive finance and revitalizing the capital market ▲ enhancing soundness and liquidity risk management capabilities ▲ establishing an inspection system to strengthen preemptive investor protection.
First, financial investment companies will assess and convey risks from the investor's perspective and build a focused review system for high-risk products. To prevent misselling, they also plan to closely examine internal controls at each stage, including product planning, manufacturing and sales.
In addition, it will support the early stabilization of new systems to invigorate venture capital, such as business development companies (BDC) and the Public Growth Fund, and actively help new types of market infrastructure institutions—such as fractional investment and unlisted stocks—launch stably.
On the risk management side, in connection with the expansion of funding via short-term notes and investment management accounts (IMA), it will supplement systems to enhance the effectiveness of the risk management framework of comprehensive financial investment firms. It will monitor potential risk factors at small and midsize securities firms whose business performance and soundness are recovering slowly, and will also conduct thorough fact-finding on the results of reducing exposure to delayed real estate project financing (PF). It will carry out focused inspections of managers and discretionary investment firms that have long remained below the requirements for maintaining registration.
Lastly, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) will respond sternly with swift, mobile inspections to illegal or unjust practices and poor internal controls that occur at points of contact with investors, such as branch hubs. It also decided to expand consulting inspections, which support companies in autonomously and proactively strengthening their investor protection systems.
An official at the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said, "We will enhance the predictability of our supervisory direction through close communication with the industry and continue policy support for the development of the capital market."