FSC, FSS to Unify

Chong Wa Dae will unite the government agency, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC), and the private organization, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), and make them into one government organization. It will decide this plan and release its announcement within the week.

FSS workers are strongly against this plan and say: “We are against this plan and will go on strike if necessary.” In regards to this plan, lots of labor pains are expected.

A high-ranking source from Chong Wa Dae explained yesterday that “the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) proposed three plans for restructuring financial supervisory organizations. Those plans have the common thought that FSS would change the government organization.”

He also added that FSS was responsible for faithless supervisory actions such as incurring the dishonor of credit card companies, but the FSS didn’t assume the responsibility for this. So the FSS should be changed to an organization, equivalent to the Public Service.

Jeon Yun-Churl, chairman of the BAI, and Kim Byung-Jun, chairman of the Presidential Committee on Government Innovation and Decentralization, will report this plan to President Roh and decide finally.

According to this reorganization plan made by Chong Wa Dae and based on the opinion of the BAI, the FSC and FSS will be united into one supervisory organization and be changed into a government agency like the Fair Trade Commission.

However, it is uncertain if the new supervisory organization will take the right of establishment and modification for financial laws, which the Financial Policy Bureau in the Ministry of Finance and Economy has now.

One source from the FSS said, “This reorganization plan will be meaningless unless the right of establishment and modification for financial laws are moved to this united supervisory organization. The united supervisory organization should exercise the right of establishment and modification for financial laws comprehensively.”

Meanwhile, Park Young-Kyu, FSS union leader released a statement saying, “A desirable financial supervisory organization should be a public and civil organization, to insure impartiality. Workers of FSS will be against this plan and go on a strike.”

Keuk-In Bae bae2150@donga.com