FSS Governor Lee Chan-jin personally met with complainants regarding the Belgian Fund and indemnity health insurance cases, underscoring his commitment to restoring consumer trust since taking office. By choosing to directly engage with those affected, Lee signaled his intention to take personal responsibility for addressing these issues. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Nov. 5 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s top financial regulator vowed Wednesday to reconsider compensation standards for investors in the so-called Belgian Fund scandal if evidence of mis-selling is confirmed, as part of a broader push to strengthen consumer protection in the financial sector.
Lee Chan-jin, governor of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), made the remarks during the first “Executive Complaint Day” session, where he met with investors who suffered losses from the fund and policyholders disputing cataract surgery insurance claims.
The Belgian Fund, launched in June 2019, raised about 90 billion won ($65 million) by promoting itself as a low-risk investment tied to long-term leases of office buildings used by Belgian government agencies. But amid rising interest rates and a downturn in Europe’s property market, the fund failed to sell its lease rights and suffered a total loss.
At least 112 investors have filed complaints, prompting the FSS to conduct on-site inspections of three selling institutions — Korea Investment & Securities, KB Kookmin Bank, and Woori Bank. Korea Investment & Securities sold roughly 58.9 billion won worth of the fund, making it the largest distributor.
The Financial Supervisory Service. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
“If on-site inspections reveal internal control failures or mis-selling, we will instruct the sellers to readjust compensation standards, even for cases already resolved,” Lee said. He added that the FSS plans to overhaul the product design and sales process to prevent similar incidents.
Lee also met with a policyholder who had cataract surgery but was denied coverage under her indemnity insurance, promising to review recent court rulings on related cases. Cataract insurance claims have become one of the most contentious issues in Korea’s medical insurance sector, with insurers citing inflated costs and unnecessary surgeries.
Since taking office, Lee has made financial consumer protection a key priority, introducing the “Executive Complaint Day” program to allow senior management to meet with complainants weekly through January.
“The FSS will ensure that voices from the field are sincerely reflected in all areas of our work,” the agency said in a statement. “We are working toward embedding a culture of genuine financial consumer protection throughout the organization.”
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
