Temasek Cuts Pay Following FTX Autopsy

South Korea’s FIU Faces Staffing Cuts Amid Crypto ChallengesThe Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), a department operating under the South Korean Financial Services Commission (FSC), is downsizing its Virtual Asset Inspection Division, reducing its members from nine to seven, as reported by the local news outlet Etoday. The FIU has faced chronic understaffing for several years, and with the cryptocurrency market expanding and issues accumulating, there is growing concern within the industry about the possibility of a regulatory and supervisory gap.Photo by JEONGUK — on UnsplashTemporary division’s tenure extensionMeanwhile, the FIU seeks to extend the tenure of the temporary virtual asset inspection division, currently scheduled to operate from September 16, 2023, until June 30, 2024. Presently, this division comprises one rank 4 officer, four rank 5 officers, three rank 6 officers, and one rank 7 officer. However, the upcoming organizational changes will involve the removal of one rank 5 officer and one rank 6 officer. Moreover, the two temporary employees (one rank 5 and one rank 6), assigned specifically to examine and analyze financial transactions related to virtual assets, will be reduced to a single rank 5 officer.Understaffing and budget issuesAfter several years of grappling with staffing shortages, it appears that a decision has been made to actually reduce the overall number of FIU personnel. Last year, when the NPC of the National Assembly reviewed the budget of the FSC, it pointed out the shortage of FIU personnel. According to the NPC’s report on the FSC, as of 2022, the FIU’s capacity was 83 staff members. However, the current number stands at only 68, which includes 34 individuals who have been seconded from other agencies. Additionally, there are an additional 13 personnel whose positions are not represented in the organizational chart.The FIU’s spending on labor costs has consistently been lower than that of the FSC’s headquarters each year. Between 2017 and July 2022, the FIU used, on average, 83.71% of its allocated budget for labor costs. In contrast, the FSC had a higher average utilization rate at 89.2%. The NPC pointed out that this discrepancy is largely due to staffing imbalances between the two organizations, suggesting that a reevaluation of staffing levels may be necessary.The FIU has long been considered a less popular unit within the FSC. In recent years, the situation has become particularly challenging for the Virtual Asset Inspection Division, which has been swamped with various problems. This has led to a general reluctance among FSC staff to join this particular division.A person familiar with the matter told Etoday that departments within the FSC focusing on financial policy areas like insurance, banking, and capital markets have traditionally been the go-to choices for those aiming for promotions. However, the source added that there’s been a recent shift: more officers are now showing interest in joining the FIU, often with an eye toward transitioning into related industries after retirement.MOIS hesitant on permanent staffingMeanwhile, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) has been reluctant to make the FSC’s Financial Innovation Bureau and the FIU’s Virtual Asset Inspection Division permanent fixtures. While the FSC argues that solidifying these divisions would necessitate a larger staff and budget, the MOIS is holding back. According to another source, the staffing issue isn’t exclusive to the FIU; the FSC as a whole is understaffed. Despite the FSC’s desire to expand its workforce, the MOIS remains unwilling to approve the additional resources.Crypto professionals are worried that financial regulators are cutting back on staff even as challenges within the sector continue to mount. An official from a virtual asset exchange voiced frustration, pointing to the contrasting approach in neighboring Japan. The official noted that Japan is actively pushing to advance its Web3 sector by not only establishing a dedicated virtual asset department within its Financial Services Agency, but also by forming specialized task forces to address specific challenges. The official finds it baffling that Korea, on the other hand, is downsizing departments that tackle these important issues.

China to Pay State Employees in Digital YuanChina is making its biggest push yet to facilitate greater use of its central bank digital currency (CBDC), the digital yuan (e-CNY).©Pexels/RODNAE ProductionsThe eastern city of Changshu is gearing up to commence paying state employees in the city in e-CNY. According to an announcement made by the city’s finance bureau on Sunday, the civil servants will start to receive e-CNY as payment in May. The measure will also impact journalists working for state media, medical staff, technicians and schoolteachers.Advancing a cashless societyThrough a proliferation in the use of digital money such as that offered via WeChat Pay and AliPay, China is already well on its way towards being a cashless society. However, this latest move with the e-CNY is another major step in that direction.In a separate announcement on Sunday, the administrators of the city of Xuzhou, which like Changshu is also located within Jiangsu province, said that Xuzhou is in the process of publishing a pilot scheme which will set out a means for promoting China’s e-CNY digital currency. Meanwhile another Jiangsu province city, Suzhou, was one of the first locations in China to run a digital yuan pilot scheme in April 2020.Previously local government authorities in cities like Shenzhen and Beijing have experimented with using the currency, offering free digital yuan to citizens to spend, in an effort to popularize the digital currency.Changshu had already been using the currency for the best part of a year to make overtime payments to 4,900 state enterprise employees. Additionally, the city administrators had introduced it to pay subsidies, including payments to tech companies, payments related to housing and transport for local government workers. While there’s every likelihood that this latest measure could be applied on a province-wide basis, there has as yet been no direct confirmation of such an eventuality.Privacy concernsThe Chinese government maintains that further introduction of the e-CNY will lead to an improvement for citizens in terms of privacy. Beijing maintains that the large tech platforms like WeChat Pay and AliPay will have no access to the transaction data of individuals and companies. However, that data will find itself directly in the hands of the Chinese government. Given the totalitarian nature of governance in China, it’s hard to imagine how that could be a positive outcome for Chinese society.International currencyOriginally known as DCEP, work on the digital currency began in China in 2014. The Chinese are among a growing list of countries that are understood to be unhappy with the need to use US dollars for international trade given that the dollar is the global reserve currency.That discontent has grown further as a direct response to greater use of sanctions by the United States, and particularly the seizure of Russian sovereign funds held in dollars. Furthermore, the weaponization of the SWIFT payments system exemplified through the exclusion of countries like Russia and Iran is also believed to have been a catalyst for greater development of the e-CNY.

Korean health management app leverages blockchain for iris-based solutionsIRIS, a blockchain foundation focused on healthcare, announced on Wednesday (local time) the launch of a health management app developed in collaboration with Hongbog, a South Korean provider of iris-based biometric systems. This app offers services customized to each user’s health status and lifestyle.Photo by Kalea Jerielle on UnsplashIridology-based health analysisUnlike other healthcare platforms that primarily focus on exercises, IRIS’ app offers long-term and periodic health trend analysis reports through iris photography. This approach is based on “iridology,” a concept used in traditional Korean medicine, and the app also recommends visits to specialized healthcare providers based on its findings.The app instantly analyzes a user’s biometric information through artificial intelligence once a picture of their eyes is captured with a smartphone camera. Within 15 seconds, users can view their results, based on which the app recommends personalized exercises and nutrients.This platform serves both personal disease management and prevention, and can also be utilized by public health centers for monitoring the health of local residents. Presently, it provides five health ratings for cholesterol, stress levels, and four specific organs: the brain, lungs, liver and kidneys. Future updates will optionally include information on an additional 15 organs, such as the heart, bronchi, pancreas and stomach.Blockchain-powered privacy protectionA representative from IRIS conveyed that their goal in an aging society is to assist customers in preventing serious illnesses and promoting longer, healthier lives. They emphasized that the app enables regular measurement of health indicators, aiding in disease prevention and management. The representative also mentioned that by storing sensitive healthcare information on the blockchain, the service eliminates the risk of personal data leaks.