This Is the First Time the Governor Has Missed the Monetary Policy Committee Plenary Session
Lee Chang-yong, the nominee for Governor of the Bank of Korea, is arriving at the confirmation hearing office set up in the Booyoung Taepyeong Building on Sejong-daero, Jung-gu, Seoul, on the 1st, and responding to questions from the press. Photo by Joint Press Corps
[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jung] With the confirmation hearing for Lee Chang-yong, the nominee for Governor of the Bank of Korea, scheduled for the 19th, an unprecedented situation has materialized where the April Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting to decide the base interest rate will be held without a governor. Since the Bank of Korea governor has concurrently served as the chair of the MPC since 1998, this is the first time the governor will be absent from the MPC plenary session.
According to the National Assembly's Planning and Finance Committee on the 6th, the committee plans to hold a full meeting on the 12th to approve the schedule for the confirmation hearing of the nominee on the 19th.
Lee was nominated as the Bank of Korea governor candidate on the 23rd of last month. The Blue House submitted the request for the confirmation hearing to the National Assembly on the 4th. According to the Confirmation Hearing Act, the National Assembly must complete the hearing process within 20 days after receiving the request from the president.
With Lee's confirmation hearing set for the 19th, the MPC meeting on the 14th to decide the monetary policy direction and base interest rate will be chaired by member Joo Sang-young instead of the governor, who is the chair. The meeting will proceed with six MPC members while the governor's position remains vacant.
Lee graduated from Inchang High School and Seoul National University with a degree in economics, and earned his master's and doctoral degrees in economics from Harvard University. He has served as a professor in the Department of Economics at Seoul National University, Vice Chairman of the Financial Services Commission, Planning and Coordination Director of the G20 Summit Preparatory Committee, and Senior Economist at the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
A Bank of Korea official stated, "With the confirmation hearing for the governor candidate fixed on the 19th, the MPC plenary session on the 14th to decide the monetary policy direction will be chaired by Acting Chair Joo Sang-young. Even with the governor's position vacant, the MPC, as a collegial decision-making body, will operate monetary policy impartially."
Meanwhile, according to the confirmation hearing request submitted to the National Assembly, Lee reported total assets of 4.20336 billion KRW. He declared an apartment in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, under his spouse's name (1.474 billion KRW) and a leasehold right for an officetel in Munjeong-dong, Songpa-gu (30 million KRW). Under his own name, he owns forest land in Gumi-si, Gyeongbuk Province (approximately 1.12 billion KRW), a river area (7.31 million KRW), a commercial building in Nonsan, Chungnam Province (129.47 million KRW), and a 2020 model Palisade vehicle (28.09 million KRW). Deposits total 1.38075 billion KRW combined for him and his spouse.
Lee was classified as supplementary service with physical grade 3 (grade 4) in 1983, and was reclassified as grade 5 wartime labor service (exempt from active duty) due to sequelae from anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction surgery in 1986. His eldest son received a grade 3 classification in March 2017 and is currently abroad, thus eligible for deferment of military service until this year.
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