S. Korea, US agree on bolstering anti-money laundering cooperation

Seoul, April 20 (IANS) South Korea and the United States have agreed on enhancing cooperation to fight money laundering activities in the Asia-Pacific region, Seoul's financial regulator said on Monday.

Earlier this week, Lee Hyung-ju, commissioner of the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (KoFIU), met Andrea Gacki, director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, in Washington, according to the Financial Services Commission (FSC).

The KoFIU is under the FSC, which is tasked with countering money laundering, the financing of terrorism and other illegal financial activities, reports Yonhap news agency.

During the meeting, Lee said the two countries should bolster transnational cooperation in fighting money laundering activities in the Asia-Pacific region, pointing to online scams in some Southeast Asian countries involving Korean nationals.

In particular, anti-money laundering crackdown efforts should be implemented in cooperation with the private sector for early detections, the regulator said.

In response, Gacki said South Korea is an important strategic partner and agreed to raise information exchanges between the two agencies to crack down on various forms of unlawful activities, according to the FSC.

Meanwhile, the chief of the country's financial regulator said on Friday that banks and state-run lenders will provide a set of financial support packages to the Middle East crisis-hit companies to ease their financial burdens and potential liquidity shortage.

In a meeting with heads of steelmakers and the sector-related firms, Lee Eog-weon, chairman of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), said policy lenders are set to provide a total of 25.6 trillion won ($17.3 billion) in loans to companies facing troubles in the wake of the Middle East crisis.

Banks and other financial companies also have drawn up a support package totalling over 53 trillion won, according to Lee.

"We are taking timely measures to help crisis-hit companies overcome liquidity shortages and other troubles," Lee said, adding that the support measures may further increase depending on situations.

As to the steelmaking sector, the financial authorities will support their business reorganisation and improve their financial status via a 1 trillion-won fund aimed at supporting their business overhaul.