Korea Institute of Finance

Financial Research Brief

25-10 May 17, 2025

The Need for Overhaul of Savings Banks Regulatory Framework in Korea

Savings banks are financial institutions established for the purpose of providing financial convenience to the local community, particularly to the low and middle-income individuals and small and medium-sized enterprises. However, their original identity as local financial institution has been diminished with time, going through a series of restructuring of insolvent savings banks with poor prudential management. In result, some of the savings banks got to operate in multiple business areas. Sin...

Financial Review Jun-Tae Park

Overseas Policies on Payment Frauds and Implications for Korea

Policy Issue in Focus KyooBok Lee

Financial Accessibility for Foreign Residents in Korea: Challenges and Prospects

Policy Issue in Focus YongKi Hong

Sales of Virtual Assets by Non-Profit Corporations and Exchanges to Be Allowed from June, May 2025 (FSC)

News Briefs KIF

Domestic and International Cases of Green FinTech and Policy Implications

The Korean government has been actively advancing a range of policies aimed at achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. In line with this national agenda, financial authorities have extended support to corporations and are in the process of reforming the disclosure system to facilitate a smooth transition to a low-carbon economy. Within this context, green fintech emerges as a strategic sector that can harness digital technologies and high-quality data to deliver innovative climate risk solu...

20250421 Jeong Ho Suh

Alternative Credit Scoring Regulatory Framework: Comparison Between Indonesia and Korea

The report focuses on the alternative credit scoring (ACS) system, a topic selected through discussions between both countries. It examines the current status and policy challenges of each nation and derives implications for regulatory improvements in Indonesia. The study findings indicate that South Korea has established an innovative framework for ACS, with effectively managed regulations on financial consumer protection and data governance. In contrast, while the demand for ACS in Indonesia i...

20250416 Sanjung Purnama Budiarjo, Chun Sung Jun

Leveraging South Korea's Strategic Approach: Developing a Robust NPL Resolution Framework for Indonesia

The study focused on the Non-Performing Loan (NPL) system, a topic selected through discussions between both countries. During the research, South Korea shared its experience in stabilizing the financial market through the establishment of a government-led Asset Management Company (AMC), the issuance of Asset-Backed Securities (ABS), and active participation of the private sector. In contrast, Indonesia faces challenges in NPL management, leading to a decline in financial institutions' lending c...

20250416 F. Ziesco Yoga Sulistyo, Lee Kang San

Regulations of Electronic Financial Transactions in Major Foreign Countries and Their Implications: Focused on Business Classification and Key Concepts

Since its enactment in 2006, the Electronic Financial Transactions Act in Korea has classified electronic financial and auxiliary businesses into seven types and regulated them accordingly. It has also explicitly defined key terms?such as payment methods, electronic devices, and access media?used for classification. Meanwhile, major foreign countries have continuously updated and improved their regulatory systems, simplifying the number of industries based on key functions rather than payment ...

20250414 Christopher Byungho Suh, JEONG DOO LEE, Tae-Rog Oh, YongKi Hong

Understanding Youth Financial Policy

So far, Korea's youth policies, except for some employment policies, are generally considered to be ineffective, and youth policies related to finance in particular are evaluated to be ineffective. This is largely due to the fact that Korean youth have lower assets and income than other age groups, so they have a high debt burden, tend to increase real estate investment through financial debt, and especially, low-income youths often use credit loans to secure monthly rent deposits. Since youth f...

20250402 Dong-Hwan Kim