Financial Services Commission chairman Shin Je-yoon on Friday told the country’s financial group heads on Friday that the government would try to develop the financial industry by boosting sales of value-added products.

Outlining a 10-year project, Shin said the country aimed to increase the relative weight of the financial industry to 10 percent of the country’s overall economic output.

The participants in the meeting included Financial Supervisory Service head Choi Soo-hyun, KB Financial Group chairman Euh Yoon-dae, Woori Financial Group chairman-nominee Lee Soon-woo, Shinhan Financial Group chairman Han Dong-woo and Hana Financial Group chairman Kim Jung-tae.

Korea’s financial industry accounted for 7 percent of its GDP in 2011.

The country’s financial sector had produced about 6 percent of the nation’s total output by the mid-1990s, Shin recalled. The percentage reached 6.9 percent by 2005, and has remained largely unchanged, marking 7 percent as of 2011.

“Over the same period, Australia, which has a similar economic scale as ours, had its financial industry output grow from 6.8 percent to 10.2 percent,” he claimed, urging financial businesses leaders’ cooperation with the 10-10 project.

Shin also mentioned that the FSC’s goal to foster the country’s investment sector ― which financial experts view as far underdeveloped as those in developed foreign economies ― as well as private equity funds, M&As, and overseas expansions of financial enterprises.

At the same time, Shin dismissed the notion that the current administration cares little about the financial sector, which has been prevalent in Korea’s business field.

“I am aware that there are criticisms about the current government having no distinct blueprint for the nation’s financial sector, which is not true,” the FSC head told the audience.

Shin vowed to support the local financial industries’ growth by securing new sources of profit despite the low-rate, low-gain financial market trend.

By Chung Joo-won (joowonc@heraldcorp.com)