[2026 Parliamentary Audit] After criticism over "Would you launch it again if you could go back?"... Lee Eogweon: "We should have looked more carefully"

Financial Services Commission Chairman Lee Eog-weon said he would scrutinize the matter more carefully after being criticized over whether he would launch single-stock leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETFs) if he could go back in time.

Lee Eog-weon, chairman of the Financial Services Commission, answers lawmakers' questions during a parliamentary audit of the Financial Services Commission and other agencies at the National Assembly on October 8, 2026. Photo by Yoon Dongju.

Rep. Cho Jung-hoon of the People Power Party criticized the move during a parliamentary audit of the Financial Services Commission by the National Assembly’s Political Affairs Committee on Oct. 8. “When single-stock leveraged ETFs were introduced on May 27, an atmosphere was created that made it seem like ‘you’d be a fool not to put your money in’ and ‘get in before it’s too late,’” he said. “Even if I make every possible concession, the authorities did not stop asset managers from creating that kind of atmosphere.”

He added, “Regardless of whether it was legal, this was a political breach of trust,” and said, “I don’t think it’s acceptable to say that the policy deserves credit if it succeeds, but that individual investors are responsible if it fails.”

Rep. Cho asked Chairman Lee, “If you could go back to May, January, or even December last year, would you launch these single-stock leveraged ETFs in exactly the same way and at exactly the same time?” Lee replied, “The foreign exchange market was in a very difficult position at the time.”

Rep. Cho continued, “I submitted written questions to the Ministry of Finance and Economy and other agencies, and the response from the Financial Services Commission said it had no analysis of the impact that single-stock leveraged ETFs would have on the foreign exchange market. As an opposition lawmaker, I can’t help but question the political intent, but as someone responsible for policy, wouldn’t it have been right to move a little more slowly if you could go back?” Lee responded, “I’ll keep in mind that we should have scrutinized the matter more carefully, in addition to considering the need to introduce the policy.”

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