[Exclusive] The Next Capital Market Research Institute President Will Be Recruited Again from the Beginning

Interview Suspended in October
New Application Process Started on 1st
Yonsei Graduate Professor Mentioned as Leading Candidate
Parachute Appointment Controversy Inevitable

The Korea Capital Market Institute (KCMI) is restarting the selection process for its next president. After completing the document screening and conducting interviews last September, the decision to restart the recruitment process from the beginning without any special reason is expected to spark controversy.

According to sources from the financial investment industry and financial authorities on the 8th, KCMI posted a notice on the 1st for document submission for the next president recruitment. Document submissions will close by 5 p.m. that day.

The term of Shin Jin-young, the current president of KCMI, expired on September 30. Accordingly, KCMI formed a presidential candidate recommendation committee and completed the document submission process in September. A professor from Seoul National University, who is a contemporary of Kim So-young, Vice Chairman of the Financial Services Commission, was mentioned as a leading candidate, but the interview process, which was underway in October, was halted.

The sudden suspension of interviews without justifiable reasons and the restart of the recruitment process from the beginning are expected to intensify controversy. Until now, KCMI has appointed its president through a recommendation system. During this process, allegations of 'nakhasan' (parachute) appointments have been persistent.

Shin In-seok, a former president who served as a senior advisor to the Presidential Transition Committee during the Park Geun-hye administration, submitted documents alone when appointed in 2014, which sparked rumors. Former president Ahn Dong-hyun abruptly resigned in 2018, early in the Moon Jae-in administration, with one year left in his term, due to being associated with the previous administration. Because of these issues, KCMI has elected its president through a public recruitment process since 2021. The current president Shin is the first to be selected through this public recruitment method.

The new candidate mentioned is known to be an economics professor who graduated from Yonsei University. Figures from Yonsei University have been prominent in this administration. Given that the recruitment process, including interviews, was halted and restarted, the next president is unlikely to be free from the 'nakhasan' label.

A financial investment industry official said, "The method of selecting the next KCMI president has been changed to a public recruitment process due to ongoing 'nakhasan' controversies, but the interviews, which were proceeding according to the process, were suddenly stopped," adding, "Even in the public recruitment process, the transparency and fairness of the procedure have been tarnished."

In response, a financial authority official stated, "The KCMI presidential candidate recommendation committee will appoint the president according to the procedures," and added, "It is common for the recruitment process not to conclude in one round, and if no suitable candidate is found, the recruitment process can be restarted."