Financial Services Commission (South Korea)

The Financial Services Commission is a central government body responsible for financial policy and financial supervision. The FSC has statutory mandates to draft and amend financial laws and regulations; supervise, inspect and sanction financial institutions; issue regulatory licenses and approval to financial institutions; oversee capital markets; and supervise foreign exchange transactions conducted by financial institutions to ensure their financial soundness. The Financial Services Commission was established in 2008 after a series of changes in Korea’s financial supervisory system. In the wake of the 1997 Asian financial crisis, there was a growing need for an integrated supervisory authority to oversee the financial industry. The Financial Supervisory Commission, the predecessor to the current Financial Services Commission, was founded in April 1998 as a single supervisory authority integrating financial supervisory functions of the former Ministry of Finance and Economy - currently Ministry of Strategy and Finance, MOSF - and the Bank of Korea. In January 1999, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) was founded under the guidance and supervision of the FSC to carry out examination of financial institutions along with enforcement and other oversight activities as directed or charged by the FSC. In February 2008, the Financial Supervisory Commission was integrated with the Financial Policy Bureau of the then Ministry of Finance and Economy to become the Financial Services Commission (FSC).