The watchdog said that, among 77 companies subject to its financial consumer protection assessment, 69 now report their consumer protection management strategy to their boards of directors. It also said 15 companies operate a consumer protection-related subcommittee within the board.
The FSS said the biggest shift is the board’s role. The number of companies that directly report consumer protection strategies and policies to the board rose to 69 from 55, while those that set up a related board subcommittee increased to 15 from two. The agency said consumer protection is moving beyond day-to-day operations and into discussion at the top decision-making level.
The FSS cited examples. Hana Securities runs a consumer risk management committee led by outside directors and regularly reviews related agenda items. Tongyang Life appointed an outside director with expertise in consumer protection policy and then created a Financial Consumer Protection Committee. The agency said boards are shifting from simply receiving reports to making judgments themselves.
The standing of chief consumer officers, or CCOs, has also strengthened. The FSS said 64 companies granted CCOs the right to reach prior agreement on key matters such as KPI design and the authority to demand improvements. It said 51 companies now guarantee CCO terms of at least two years, giving consumer protection units a minimum level of authority to check sales-driven structures.
Samsung Securities changed the appointment and dismissal of its CCO to a matter requiring a board resolution and put the CCO’s authority in writing, the FSS said. KB Card extended the CCO term to three years and arranged for an effective veto to apply in key decisions, it said.
Changes are also spreading to performance and compensation systems. The FSS said 69 companies reflected consumer protection indicators in CEO KPIs, and some firms moved to expand related organizations and staffing.
Still, the FSS said more work is needed for the system to take hold. It said 41 companies — about half — appointed directors with consumer protection expertise, and 45 reflected related indicators in employee KPIs. Follow-up actions managed through IT systems also fell short of half, it said.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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