['Geumpia' Cartel]② Financial Authorities as a Stepping Stone to High Salaries

146 Private Company and Corporation Employees Who Changed Jobs in the Last 5 Years
Received Multi-Billion Won High Salaries and Stocks
Significant Turnover Among Employees with Less Than 10 Years of Service

It has been revealed that former financial authorities who have been re-employed as executives in private companies or public institutions are receiving annual salaries amounting to several hundred million won. There are concerns that the titles of 'former Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) official' and 'former Financial Services Commission (FSC) official' are being used during job transitions, making the authorities a stepping stone to high-paying positions.

According to data titled '2018?2022 Re-employment Review Status of Retirees from FSS and FSC' received by Asia Economy on the 27th from the office of Choi Seung-jae, a member of the National Assembly’s Political Affairs Committee from the People Power Party, a total of 146 individuals moved from the two institutions to private companies or public institutions over five years. This includes 125 from the FSS (excluding 4 restricted or disapproved cases) and 21 from the FSC (excluding 3 restricted or disapproved cases). They transitioned to various fields ranging from financial-related corporations such as the Korea Insurance Research Institute, Korea Financial Telecommunications & Clearings Institute, and Korea Financial Investment Association to private companies including banks, savings banks, securities firms, life insurance companies, and card and capital companies. There is also active movement to large law firms such as Kim & Chang, Bae, Kim & Lee LLC, Lee & Ko, and Tae-Young & Partners. Their positions are mainly executive-level, including vice presidents, directors, CEOs, managing directors, senior managers, advisors, and outside directors.

There were also a significant number of high earners. According to each company’s management disclosure, Joo Jae-sung, former deputy governor of the FSS and standing auditor of KB Kookmin Bank from 2019 to 2021, received 1.04 billion won. This included a salary of 380 million won, bonuses of 558 million won, welfare benefits of 19 million won, and retirement pay of 83 million won. Additionally, he received 4,785 shares as performance incentives. Huh Chang-eon, former standing auditor of Shinhan Bank (former deputy director of the FSS), received 507 million won and 6,209 shares, while Lee Joo-hyung, former standing auditor of Hana Bank (former director of the FSS), received 504 million won and 5,170 shares.

There are also quite a few lower-ranking employees who changed jobs seeking high salaries. Employees at grades 3 to 4 with about 10 years of service are resigning and moving to private companies. For example, in 2019, a grade 4 employee with 4.4 years of service moved to a private manufacturing company, and another grade 4 employee with 2.2 years of service moved to an insurance company as a deputy manager. Subsequently, 2 employees moved in 2020, 2 in 2021, and 4 in 2022. If including those below grade 4 who are excluded from the review, the number of cases is even higher. A financial authority official explained, “The turnover of lower-ranking employees reflects a trend where income is prioritized over honor.”

Experts express concerns that networks between current and former officials could solidify through high salaries as a medium. Kim Jae-hoon, senior research fellow at the Korea Development Institute (KDI), pointed out, “A senior who moved to a high-paying position can offer job opportunities to juniors, and this could lead to requests or favors being exchanged as bait.”