Women, Regional Voices, and Youth Still Face a 'Glass Ceiling' on FSC Committees... "Diversity Must Be Expanded"

Appointed members on 11 FSC committees: 27% women, 9% from outside the Seoul metropolitan area, no young members
Few members from outside the Seoul metropolitan area on Financial Hub Promotion Committee; no young members on Innovative Finance Review Committee
Financial and political circles: "Appointed members need to be more diverse" ... FSC: "We will make efforts without excluding any particular group"

Women accounted for about one in four of the appointed members serving on the 11 committees under the Financial Services Commission (FSC), while people from outside the Seoul metropolitan area made up less than one in ten, and there were no young members at all. Calls are growing for the FSC to increase the number of appointed members from outside the Seoul metropolitan area on the Financial Hub Promotion Committee, and the number of women, people from outside the Seoul metropolitan area, and young people on the Innovative Finance Review Committee and the Virtual Asset Committee, so that a broader range of voices is reflected in policymaking.

According to a list of committees under the FSC submitted by the commission to Rep. Han Min-soo of the Democratic Party of Korea, a member of the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee, as of June 30 (August 19 for the Financial Hub Promotion Committee), women accounted for 19 (27.1%) of the 70 appointed members serving on the 11 committees, people from outside the Seoul metropolitan area accounted for six (8.6%), and young people accounted for none (0%). The committees with no women among their appointed members are the Securities and Futures Commission, the Public Funds Repayment Fund Management Review Committee, and the Levy Management Committee.

There have been calls from both the financial sector and the political community to expand participation by women, people from outside the Seoul metropolitan area, and young people whose backgrounds are relevant to the committees' work, and to reflect a wider range of views in policymaking. While there is no need to mechanically match the proportions of particular groups, given that each committee has different responsibilities and member-selection criteria under the relevant laws, some have recommended strengthening the membership of committees where groups closely connected to the policies are underrepresented.

In particular, concerns have been raised about the fact that ▲only one of the 10 appointed members of the Financial Hub Promotion Committee, which takes part in formulating financial hub policy, is from outside the Seoul metropolitan area; ▲the Innovative Finance Review Committee, which reviews financial regulatory sandbox policies, has no young appointed members; and ▲the Virtual Asset Committee has no appointed members who are young or from outside the Seoul metropolitan area.

Critics say the low overall proportion of women among appointed committee members runs counter to the government's policy direction of promoting gender diversity on the boards of private-sector listed companies through measures such as the Capital Markets Act. In fact, women make up 27.1% of appointed members on committees under the FSC, 3.7 percentage points lower than the proportion of women serving as outside directors at the five major financial groups (KB, Shinhan, Hana, Woori, and NH NongHyup), where women hold 12 of 39 such positions (30.8%). At KB Financial Group, for example, outside director Cho Hwa-jun serves as board chair, reflecting a broader trend toward greater participation by women in decision-making in the private financial sector.

The lack of regional representation among appointed members of committees under the FSC has also been cited as a problem. On October 13, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced plans to relocate government ministries outside the capital. Given that the Lee Jae-myung administration is pursuing policies to strengthen regional growth engines, calls are gaining traction for greater efforts to hear from appointed members from outside the Seoul metropolitan area during the formulation of policies on regional financial hubs.

An aide to Rep. Han Min-soo said, "The FSC should increase the number of women, young people, and people from outside the Seoul metropolitan area appointed to its committees to ensure diversity in policymaking. In particular, the Financial Hub Promotion Committee should have more appointed members from outside the Seoul metropolitan area, in light of the purpose of policies to revitalize regional economies, including the recently announced relocation of government ministries."

The FSC said it agreed with calls to broaden the diversity of appointed members, but explained that practical limitations make it difficult to find members who meet the expertise requirements set out in the laws and regulations governing its committees. For example, Article 10 of the Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Creation and Development of Financial Hubs, which governs the Financial Hub Promotion Committee, requires appointed members to have one of the following qualifications: ▲at least 10 years of experience in finance or investment at a university, research institute, financial institution, or similar organization; ▲at least 10 years of experience in finance, investment, or corporate auditing, together with a qualification as a lawyer, certified public accountant, or tax accountant; or ▲at least 10 years of experience in international finance or investment at an international financial institution.

Article 4 of the Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Protection of Virtual Asset Users, which governs the Virtual Asset Committee, sets out qualifications including ▲at least seven years of service as a judge, prosecutor, or lawyer; ▲at least seven years of work as an associate professor or higher at a university, along with expertise in a field related to virtual assets; ▲at least three years of work at an institution or organization related to virtual assets; ▲at least five years of work in consumer protection; or ▲at least five years of work in information security or information technology after obtaining a technical qualification in one of those fields. However, Article 4, Paragraph 4 of the decree stipulates that "the chair of the Financial Services Commission shall consider gender when appointing or commissioning members."

An FSC official said, "The process of meeting the expertise requirements set out in relevant laws and regulations does not exclude people of a particular gender or people from outside the Seoul metropolitan area. We will operate the committees under our jurisdiction in a way that broadens the diversity of appointed members."

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