HISTORY
The Ministry of Economy and Finance began as two separate bodies in 1948 when the government of the Republic
of Korea was established: the Ministry of Finance, which was responsible for managing financial resources and developing financial,
monetary and FX policies, and the Economic Planning Board,which was responsible for planning budgets and economic development.The two
bodies were integrated in 1994 to become the Ministry of Finance and Economy.
Later, in response to the financial crisis in 1997,
the Ministry was split into the Ministry of Finance and Economy and the Ministry of Planning and Budget. As the necessity grew for economic
and tax policies as well as fiscal strategies to be managed together under one roof, the two ministries were combined in 2008 to form the
Ministry of Strategy and Finance, which later changed its name to the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
2008 - Present
Ministry of Economy and Finance
In 2008, the Ministry of Finance and Economy (MOFE) and the Ministry of Planning and Budget (MPB) was again merged
into the Ministry of Strategy and Finance (MOSF) in order to put under one roof fiscal policy functions and inter-ministerial
policy coordination.On the other hand, the MOFE's authority on financial policies regarding the financial market was transferred
to the Financial Services Commission.
In 2018, the Ministry changed its official English name to the Ministry of Economy and Finance to
more accurately reflect its role and functions of overseeing the overall economic polices.
1999 - 2008
Ministry of Planning and Budget
1998 - 1999
The Planning and Budget Commission National Budget Administration
1998 - 2008
Ministry of Finance and Economy
In 1999, the Planning and Budget Committee and the National Budget Administration was merged into the Ministry of Planning and Budget (MPB). In 1998, in a response to the financial crisis, the MOFE's functions were separated and transferred to other Ministries so as to mitigate the over-concentration of decision making authority by MOFE. Its budgetary authority was transferred to the National Budget Administration, its financial supervision authority to the Financial Supervisory Commission, and its trade negotiating authority to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
1994 - 1998
Ministry of Finance and Economy
In 1994, as the need arose for an integrated approach to implement the government's functions on economic affairs in an efficient and coherent way, the Economic Planning Board and the Ministry of Finance was merged into the Ministry of Finance and Economy (MOFE).
1961 - 1994
Economic Planning Board
1948 - 1994
Ministry of Finance
In 1948, three years after gaining independence from Japan, the Korean government was set up and it established the Ministry of Finance and the Economic Planning Board. The Ministry of Finance took charge of designing tax, financial and monetary policies as well as managing state-owned property and exchange rates. On the other hand, the Economic Planning Board was empowered in 1961 and assumed an important mandate of designing 5 y ear economic development plans in addition to its usual functions such as managing the government's budget and securing foreign loans.
