FSS launches 14th cohort of student financial education volunteers

The Financial Supervisory Service has launched its 14th College Student Financial Education Volunteer Corps. The 149 university students selected from 49 institutions across the country will spend the next two years teaching financial literacy at elementary, middle and high schools, youth training facilities and after-school care programs.

The FSS held a launch ceremony Friday with Director General Lee Chan-jin in attendance.

The corps comprises 79 members from Seoul and Gyeonggi Province and 70 from other regions, for a total of 149. Volunteers were drawn from across the country to serve in Incheon, Busan and Ulsan, Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province, Gwangju and South Jeolla Province, and Daejeon and South Chungcheong Province.

From September through August 2028, the volunteers will visit schools and youth facilities to deliver both classroom instruction and hands-on financial education programs. They will also serve as dedicated instructors in after-school financial classes and participate in senior digital finance sessions, teaching older adults how to use internet and mobile banking services.

Ahead of their deployment, the FSS put the volunteers through instructor training covering lecture guidelines and curriculum, as well as how to use teaching materials such as standardized lesson plans and card and board games designed for financial education. The training also included a special lecture on AI and finance and a financial literacy quiz program.

The FSS has operated the student volunteer corps since 2012. Since then, the program has delivered financial education to approximately 269,000 people across 6,135 sessions.

At Friday's ceremony, five outstanding members of the 12th cohort — who completed their two-year service — received commendations from the FSS director general.

Meanwhile, the FSS has been stepping up its efforts to provide financial education across all life stages, from children and teenagers to the elderly. In April, it opened a KakaoTalk channel called "FSS Financial Education Center" as part of that initiative.