South Korea's Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) held its annual FSS SPEAKS 2026 forum with foreign financial companies and set out a “paradigm shift toward consumer-centered supervision,” positioning financial consumer protection as the core focus for its 2026 supervisory and inspection work. In opening remarks, Governor Lee Chanjin highlighted heightened uncertainty in the economic and financial environment and said the FSS will pursue more practical consumer support through its supervisory approach. The planned shift includes building a comprehensive, multidirectional supervisory framework to detect and manage serious risks in advance and overhauling dispute settlement standards to strengthen both preventive and remedial consumer protection. The agenda also links consumer outcomes to firm soundness and capital markets transparency, including pre-emptive risk responses through managing the quality of business and household debt, refocusing sectoral supervision on key risks, and increasing and concentrating inspection, examination and special judicial police capacity in capital markets. Further priorities cited were supporting a pathway to inclusion in the MSCI Developed Markets Index, diversifying exchange-traded fund products, and strengthening IT risk management to provide a safer digital transaction environment and prevent electronic financial incidents. The FSS said it will reflect foreign firms’ comments and recommendations in its supervision and examination tasks and will maintain regular communication with the market.

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