[DigitalToday reporter Ji-young Lee] iM Financial Group has provided practical training for financial consumer protection staff at its major affiliates and moved to strengthen consumer protection systems at the group level.

iM Financial said on Thursday it took part in the Korea Finance Institute’s financial consumer protection training programme.

Participants included financial consumer protection staff from key financial affiliates such as iM Bank, iM Securities, iM Life, iM Capital and iM Asset Management.

The training focused on practical work, including cases on designing key performance indicators centred on consumer protection, case studies from the Financial Supervisory Service’s on-site evaluations, response methods by type of complaint and dispute, and the latest consumer protection issues.

The training followed a business agreement signed last month by the Financial Supervisory Service and the Korea Finance Institute with the Korea Federation of Banks and 8 major financial holding companies to cultivate consumer protection experts and strengthen capabilities in the financial sector.

iM Financial Group joined the training to raise the expertise and response capabilities of consumer protection staff at affiliates and to overhaul consumer protection systems across the group.

It plans to link the effort to the group’s integrated consumer protection governance, overhaul practical systems that differ by sector, and strengthen work standardisation and collaboration among affiliates. It will also set up an always-on communication channel among staff to share key issues and best practices.

Hwang Byung-woo (황병우), chairman of iM Financial, said, "Financial consumer protection is a key element for the sustainable growth of financial companies and customer trust." He added, "We will enhance expertise through systematic training and reflect consumer-centred values across our work."