The financial regulator Thursday called on chief executives of foreign financial companies operating here to take measures to reduce the number of complaints filed by local financial consumers against their companies in a bid to protect the consumers.

The call came at a meeting between Choi Soo-hyun, governor of the Financial Supervisory Service and CEOs of foreign financial companies operating in the country.

“The FSS is making efforts to reduce the number of complaints against financial firms by consumers,” said Choi, adding foreign financial firms seem to have suffered from a lot of complaints from local consumers. 

Choi added the regulator will take stronger actions to reduce the number of the so-called “black consumers,” which refer to those who file complaints against financial firms in search of unlawful compensation.

The governor said the FSS will also make efforts to sustain legal business activities in so-called tax-havens, while requesting local companies to report their assets in the region honestly.

The remark came as an independent journalists’ group here revealed a list of high-profile local businessmen suspected of creating bogus companies in tax haven regions last month, sparking a strong public criticism on firms operating in such countries.

The Korea Center for Investigative Journalism, a non-profit organization set up by former journalists, disclosed several names of heads of family-owned conglomerates, who allegedly set up paper companies to stash secretive money in the British Virgin Islands and the Cook Islands.

The FSS added it will also pay closer attention in order to curb illegal foreign currency trading, and improve policies on foreign financial firms operating in South Korea. (Yonhap News)