"Approval for Firms With No Fractional Investment Track Record" Draws Criticism... Lee Eogweon: "The Process Was Fair" [2026 National Assembly Audit]

Lee Eog-weon, chairman of the Financial Services Commission, said the process was fair amid controversy over the fairness of the decision to deny Lucentblock preliminary approval for a fractional investment over-the-counter exchange.

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

Min Byeong-deok of the Democratic Party of Korea criticized the decision during a parliamentary audit of the Financial Services Commission by the National Assembly’s Political Affairs Committee on Oct. 8, saying, “Lucentblock is a startup that pioneered the fractional investment market without any incidents,” and “Yet in the licensing review to institutionalize the market, startups were excluded, while large institutions with no operating experience monopolized the approvals.”

Min pointed out, “Neither KDX nor NXT (Nexchange), which received approval, has any track record of operating a fractional investment business,” adding, “More seriously, the heads of both institutions are former senior government officials, including a former governor of the Financial Supervisory Service and a former director general of the Financial Services Commission’s Capital Markets Bureau.” He continued, “The Financial Services Commission announced that the business would be B2C (business-to-consumer), but KDX applied to operate a B2B (business-to-business) business and said only now that it is changing to B2C,” adding, “An institution led by former government officials that operated a B2B business came in first in a B2C business selection process. Can you really say the review was fair?”

In response, Lee said, “The process was fair, and the approval method was announced after gathering opinions from the industry,” adding, “I understand the frustration that innovators may feel.” Asked whether an Innovation Finance Review Committee had been convened for Lucentblock, he said, “It is not mandatory, so the committee did not review it.” Under the Special Act on Support for Financial Innovation, when an innovative financial services provider applies for formal authorization, the Innovation Finance Review Committee may offer its opinion on whether the applicant meets the authorization requirements, taking into account its performance in testing the service, among other factors.

That day, when asked, “It has been 98 days since the Financial Supervisory Service’s sanctions review of MBK Partners concluded. Why has the Financial Services Commission still not made a decision?” Lee replied, “The matter is under review by a subcommittee, and we will handle it strictly in accordance with the law and principles.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.