Rumors of Appointment of 'Yoon Camp' Affiliate as New CEO of Korea Securities Depository

New President to Be Selected Through Shareholders' Meeting at the End of This Month

[Asia Economy Reporter Minji Lee] As the Korea Securities Depository (KSD) is in the process of selecting a new president, there are rumors that a person from a presidential election camp has been nominated.

According to KSD on the 6th, the public recruitment for the new president closed on the 30th of last month, and the new president is scheduled to be appointed through a shareholders' meeting this month. It is reported that 11 candidates from the financial sector submitted applications, and the document screening has been completed.

Since KSD presidents have traditionally been former financial bureaucrats, it was expected that candidates who were former first-grade officials of the Financial Services Commission would be leading contenders this time as well. The current president Lee Myung-ho, as well as former presidents Yoo Jae-hoon (current president of the Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation) and Lee Byung-rae (current vice chairman of the Korean Institute of Certified Public Accountants), were all former financial bureaucrats.

However, according to sources inside and outside the financial sector, a person from President Yoon Seok-yeol’s election camp has emerged as a strong candidate. There are even rumors that the successor has already been decided.

Among the applicants, Lee Soon-ho, head of banking research at the Korea Institute of Finance and a member of the election camp, is mentioned. Director Lee participated as a member of the economic think tank in President Yoon’s election camp and served as a non-standing advisor at the Presidential Transition Committee.

The new president will be recommended to the shareholders' meeting by the Executive Recommendation Committee (ERC) through document and interview screenings, and will receive final approval from the Financial Services Commission through the shareholders' meeting. A KSD official stated, “(Regarding the nomination rumors of a person from the election camp) we cannot officially confirm anything from the ERC,” and added, “Only the document screening has been completed so far, and there are still remaining stages to go through.”