Government Pushes for Balanced Financial Information Exchanges

Domestic financial watchdogs and their foreign counterparts will seek international collaboration and information interchange in an effort to counter multinational financial capital attempts to disrupt the domestic market.

Moon, Seok-ho, the head of the third policy coordination committee of the ruling Uri Party, announced on Sunday that the government and Uri Party would revise the real name financial transaction act this year.

Financial watchdogs from different countries exchange information based on the principle of mutuality. So if we want financial information from foreign institutions, we should, in return, offer our information.

But the current real name financial transaction act virtually prohibits the provision of information because the law requires domestic financial institutions to get approval from every individual involved in a financial transaction to offer the information to a third party.

Kim, Gyeong-ho, a senior member of the Uri Party’s finance and economy committee, said “Financial information to be exchanged includes mainly the ownership and management control, capital, sales performance and the status of major business of financial institutions, but it may also entail the information about companies and individuals owned by the financial companies.”

Domestic institutions eligible for exchange of such financial information are the Financial Supervisory Commission, Financial Supervisory Service and Korea Exchange of the FSC.

As for the possible leakage of financial information of domestic companies and individuals, Kim said “Information will be exchanged only with countries which have strict regulations on the confidentiality and the control of exchanged information.”

Kang-Myoung Chang tesomiom@donga.com