Financial Services Commission chairman Shin Je-yoon pledged to revamp the governance structure of major financial groups during his inaugural speech on Friday.

Though the system which puts financial firms under management of their parent financial holding companies was introduced 12 years ago, it has yielded a variety of problems, said the new chief financial regulator.

Shin stressed that financial authorities are set to overhaul details in the financial groups, such as Woori, KB, Shinhan and Hana, by “conducting a close inquiry into their management system.”

For the full-fledged probe initiated by Shin, the FSC plans to establish a task force composed of experts from the financial market, universities and civic organizations.

He also said that financial firms should not gloss over the fact that taxpayers’ money totaling 168 trillion won ($154 billion) bailed out the financial industry, hit by the 1997 financial crisis.

He called for the industry to widen corporate social responsibility and put more focus on consumer protection by enhancing internal audits on irregular business practices.

For the state-controlled public agencies, Shin said he plans to suggest and recommend the replacement of incumbent executives at state-run financial firms to President Park Geun-hye, irrespective of their terms.

By Kim Yon-se (kys@heraldcorp.com)