The South Korean financial services regulator's new consumer protection advisory committee will introduce veto rights for the chief consumer officers (CCOs) on insurers' product review committees.
The top-level advisory body launched by the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) on 6 March 2026 will reflect the consumer's perspective in overall financial supervision. The new Committee, designated as the Financial Consumer Protection Advisory Committee, held its first meeting immediately after the launch and discussed measures to improve internal controls and underwriting processes within the insurance product development process in the insurance companies.
The new committee will directly function under the Governor of FSS. The committee is the highest-level advisory body within the FSS regarding consumer protection and has been established to promote consumer-centric governance innovation.
The committee, in its first meeting, also discussed a proposal to mandate that product committees operated by insurance companies deliberate on product profitability analysis and the appropriateness of coverage limits by type of coverage. It was also discussed to include the CCO as an ex officio member of the product committee and grant them veto authority over product deliberations.
It was also decided to establish guidelines for managing third-party risks, such as excessive medical treatment, and to pursue improvements to the product review system, including institutional reforms to prevent the calculation of excessive coverage amounts and the expansion of the scope of products requiring reporting.