The National Assembly's National Policy Committee has agreed to extend by 10 years the requirement that financial institutions contribute funds to the Korea Inclusive Finance Agency. A plan to create a separate fund within the agency was left for further discussion after the rival parties failed to agree.
The committee approved the revision to the Act on Support for Financial Life of Ordinary People at a legislative subcommittee meeting held on the 2nd at the National Assembly in Yeouido.
Under the current system, banks, insurers, mutual finance cooperatives, savings banks and specialized credit finance companies must contribute a set percentage of their loans and other assets to the agency. The existing law had set the obligation to expire on Oct. 8 this year, and the sunset deadline has now been pushed back by a decade.
Lawmakers could not reach common ground on creating a separate fund within the agency. The Democratic Party has proposed establishing a fund and folding existing accounts into it, arguing that this would create a more stable financing structure. The opposition, by contrast, is said to have argued for extending the current contribution requirement for financial companies rather than rushing to set up a fund, citing the need to weigh overall conditions.
The subcommittee also took up a revision to the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act centered on the tender offer system, but did not put it to a vote. The rival parties are said to have converged on setting the tender offer threshold at "50% plus one share." The committee plans to hold a smaller working session on the 15th to discuss the revision further.
A mandatory tender offer requires an acquirer that takes a stake above a certain level while gaining control of a listed company to make a tender offer to minority shareholders. Minority shareholders would then be able to sell their shares on the same terms as the controlling shareholder, at a price that includes the control premium. The measure aims to change a practice under which the control premium in mergers and acquisitions of listed companies has gone only to large shareholders.
