[Asia Economy Reporter Eunbyeol Kim] Jo Yoon-je, the newly appointed member of the Financial Monetary Policy Committee (FOMC) of the Bank of Korea, was unable to attend the first interest rate decision meeting on the 28th due to stocks he owns. This is because the value of the stocks he holds exceeded the level set by the Public Officials Ethics Act, and after discussion in the FOMC, it was judged appropriate to disqualify (exclude) Commissioner Jo.
The Bank of Korea stated on the day, "Commissioner Jo requested a review of the job relevance of the stocks he holds from the Stock Blind Trust Review Committee of the Ministry of Personnel Management, and since the results have not yet been released, he was excluded from today's monetary policy direction resolution."
Commissioner Jo, who took office on the 21st of last month, held stocks in eight companies before his appointment and disposed of stocks in five companies deemed to have job relevance, including financial stocks. He currently holds stocks in three non-financial small and medium-sized enterprises, and the total value exceeds the upper limit of 30 million KRW.
According to the Public Officials Ethics Act, if a person subject to asset disclosure or their spouse or related parties hold stocks exceeding 30 million KRW, they must sell all stocks or reduce them to below 30 million KRW, or place them in a blind trust and report to the registration authority within one month from the standard date. This applies to the Governor, Deputy Governor, Auditor of the Bank of Korea, and FOMC appointed members as well. Commissioner Jo requested a job relevance review of his stocks from the Ministry of Personnel Management's Stock Blind Trust Review Committee on the last day of the stock disposal deadline, the 20th. He is currently awaiting the results.
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