As the likelihood of the Financial Services Commission's transfer to Sejong has grown under the government's second-phase plan to relocate public institutions to the provinces, there is talk that the Financial Supervisory Service, which oversees the financial market together with the Financial Services Commission, will also transfer to Sejong. However, there is also speculation that departments related to examinations that inspect financial companies will remain in Seoul.
According to the financial authorities on the 27th, the internal mood at the Financial Supervisory Service has reportedly changed noticeably compared with a month ago. The Financial Supervisory Service had maintained a firm stance that a provincial transfer was impossible on the grounds that it must examine and supervise financial companies, but the mood is shifting toward allowing some departments not related to examinations and supervision, such as planning, to move. An official at the Financial Supervisory Service said, "There is talk that even among executives, it is hard to say as firmly as before that 'we won't go.'"
Earlier, Financial Supervisory Service Governor Lee Chan-jin said at a monthly press briefing in Mar., "In reality, the field is concentrated in Seoul and the greater capital area, and it would look silly if the supervisors leave," expressing a negative view of a provincial transfer.
However, as the government is said to be strongly committed to promoting the transfer of public institutions and decentralization, the view is spreading within the Financial Supervisory Service that it cannot insist on ruling out a transfer. As a result, a compromise is being discussed under which the examination and supervision functions would remain in Seoul, while departments such as planning and support would transfer to the provinces.
The government plans to announce the second-phase public institution transfer plan within this year. Minister Kim Yun-duk of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said, "We will draw up the outline by Aug., or by Sep. at the latest, and report to the president." An unofficial document is said to include the principle of placing institutions under the Financial Services Commission in Sejong, but the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said, "No decisions have been made on the institutions and regions subject to transfer."
President Lee Jae-myung said during the first transfer, "As we dispersed them, the concentration effect weakened. This time, we intend to send them together." Potential transfer targets include the Financial Services Commission, the Financial Supervisory Service, the Korea Development Bank, the Export-Import Bank of Korea, Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK)(024110), and the Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation (KDIC). A plan is reportedly under review to group them by function—financial policy and supervision, industrial finance, and agricultural and fisheries finance—and place them in Sejong, Wonju, Busan, and Naju.