Ha Tae-keung, president of the Korea Insurance Training Institute, speaks at a press briefing in Gwanghwamun, Seoul, on Wednesday. [Park Seong-jun]
Ha Tae-keung, president of the Korea Insurance Training Institute, speaks at a press briefing in Gwanghwamun, Seoul, on Wednesday. [Park Seong-jun]

Ha Tae-keung, president of the Korea Insurance Training Institute, on Wednesday called for a public apology from FSC Chairman Lee Eok-won, saying the Financial Services Commission had conveyed its opposition to the institute's plan to establish a 2.5 billion won ($1.75 million) AI education joint venture.

Ha held a press briefing in Gwanghwamun, Seoul, that day, characterizing the FSC's conduct as an overreach of authority and an abuse of power, and calling on Cheong Wa Dae to launch a probe and order corrective action.

Under the proposed structure, the institute would contribute 1 billion won, Taiwan's Wisdom Garden 1 billion won and Singapore's X402 Labs 500 million won. The institute's board is set to conduct a final review of the new business investment proposal and a supplementary budget plan on Friday.

Ha said the FSC's stated objection was that "a nonprofit corporation should not make startup investments in AI." He rebuffed that argument, noting that universities and hospitals are also nonprofits yet routinely engage in startups and equity investments. The institute said it had received an authoritative legal interpretation from the Ministry of Justice confirming that a nonprofit may conduct incidental for-profit activities within its stated purpose, and that a minority equity contribution of 1 billion won is permissible under its current articles of incorporation. A put option allowing the next president to recover the investment within three months of taking office has also been built in.

Ha described the FSC's approach as "ghost administration" — responding to written inquiries verbally rather than in writing, and relaying directives by landline rather than mobile phone to avoid being recorded. "It is shadow regulation that leaves no evidence," he said, adding that the FSC had "the most outdated mindset of any government ministry I have dealt with." He likened its level of administrative control to "command and control worse than the Chinese Communist Party."

Ha expressed confidence the board would approve the venture, citing the overwhelming majority that voted to amend the institute's articles of incorporation last year to allow AI joint venture investment. When critics said the Korea Life Insurance Association and the Korea Non-Life Insurance Association — both board members — appeared to be leaning against the plan, he said, "I wonder whether there are other motives at play."

On a statement issued Wednesday by the Korea Financial Industry Union demanding a halt to what it called an unlawful push, Ha said the union "is going against the tide of the AI era" and "needs to reflect deeply." Addressing concerns about the project's commercial viability, he said developing the system in-house would cost hundreds of millions of won in service fees alone, making it the riskier option.

Should the FSC maintain its opposition, Ha said he would seek a third-party investor. "This company will launch, no matter what," he said.


psj@heraldcorp.com