The creation of a knowledge-based financial system in Korea will begin with the continued deregulation of the financial sector. The deregulation will bring down longstanding walls between the banking, securities and insurance industries and promote gr...
The creation of a knowledge-based financial system in Korea will begin with the continued deregulation of the financial sector. The deregulation will bring down longstanding walls between the banking, securities and insurance industries and promote greater industry-wide competition and consolidation.
The deregulation will also lead to the rise of strategic cross-border alliances and M&A, as less competitive institutions look to ensure their survival and as larger firms seek to achieve economies of scale and improve their international competitiveness. Synergies created in the process of financial consolidation will be crucial to increasing the overall efficiency of the financial system and for the successful introduction of innovative financial products.
In many respects, the financial crisis in 1997 can be traced back to a general dysfunction of market discipline. A pervasive lack of transparency among financial institutions and corporations, inadequate credit analysis and risk management skills were just a few of the structural problems that had become deeply embedded in the economy.
Ultimately, the repeated failure to combine rapid liberalization of Korea financial markets with corresponding upgrades in the regulatory and supervisory frameworks would prove to have devastating financial consequences.
In order to restore market discipline and to ensure the proper functioning of market mechanisms, the adoption of a new regulatory regime in Korea was needed. In short, the task for the new financial supervisor would be to remove the heavy hand of government intervention and to replace it with the invisible hand of the market.
Korea non-life insurance industry was also adversely impacted by the financial crisis. Restructuring of the domestic insurance sector has focused upon the two major weaknesses revealed by the crisis : severe financial distress afflicting a number of insurance companies, and the lack of modernization and strong regulation within the industry. As a result, the insurance supervisory organization have pushed through with comprehensive reform, restructuring and consolidation efforts to assist ailing firms and rehabilitate the non-life insurance industry as a whole.
Since launching non-life insurance sector reform, the government have made every effort to complete resolution of financially distressed non-life insurance companies through M&A, financial rehabilitation or dissolution. The efforts have led to the acquisitions of domestic insurance companies by foreign investors including U.K.-based Regent Pacific Group (purchased Haedong Fire & Marine).
All insurance companies, except those which submitted rehabilitation plans in 1998, are required to meet the announced EU solvency margin requirements that are being phased in from September 1999 to March 2004.
The solvency margin will be calculated based on the new loan provisioning requirements. Insurance companies that submitted rehabilitation plans in 1998 are required to meet the same EU solvency margin requirement by the end of this year(2000). Companies that fail to meet the required solvency margin thresholds will be subject to prompt corrective action.
The legislation to create a new financial supervisory system in line with international standards. Under the new system, all financial institutions are subject to the supervision of a single body, the FSC, which began serving on April 1, 1998, as Korea supreme financial regulatory organization. Subsequently, the Office of Banking Supervision was separated from the Bank of Korea. In addition, the Securities and Exchange Commission was dissolved and the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) was established within the FSC to oversee the securities and futures markets. The insurance regulator, the Insurance Supervisory Commission, was also dissolved. In line with sector-wide initiatives, the FSC/FSS issued new regulations aimed at improving corporate governance at insurance companies by strengthening the roles of actuaries, auditors and outside directors.
To ensure non-life insurance consumers confidence, they must feel protected. For this reason, the government focus on the needs and rights of the consumers, not on the institutions that supply those services. Full disclosure principles will enable consumers to make informed decisions regarding their dealings with financial institutions and corporations.
In the same way, since it is the consumer who ultimately pays the costs of restructuring, the regulatory authority is committed to keeping these costs to a minimum by pursuing reform in a cost-efficient manner. Financial stability in itself is a powerful tool of consumer protection. The administration aim to ensure that this stability extends to all consumers equally.