Lee Bok-hyun Expressed Intention to Resign to Financial Services Commission Chairman, but Was Dissuaded
Will Continue Duties for Now Amid Growing Economic Uncertainty
Lee Bok-hyun, Governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, announced that he has expressed his intention to resign to Kim Byung-hwan, Chairman of the Financial Services Commission. However, members of the F4 meeting, including Chairman Kim, Choi Sang-mok, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, and Lee Chang-yong, Governor of the Bank of Korea, have discouraged him, so he is still considering his position.
On the morning of the 2nd, Lee appeared on CBS Radio's Kim Hyun-jung's News Show and responded to questions about his resignation by saying, "The person who recommends the Governor of the Financial Supervisory Service is the Chairman of the Financial Services Commission, and I recently contacted Chairman Kim to express my position." Lee had previously stated his opposition to the government's atmosphere of exercising veto power over the Commercial Act amendment bill, saying he would "oppose it even at the risk of his position." However, on the previous day, Prime Minister and Acting President Han Duck-soo accepted the ruling party's request for a re-deliberation veto and exercised veto power over the Commercial Act amendment bill. As the government exercised veto power, interest in Lee's position also increased.
After expressing his intention to resign, Lee said that members of the macroeconomic and financial issues meeting (F4 meeting), including Chairman Kim, Deputy Prime Minister Choi, and Governor Lee, strongly discouraged him, so he will carry out his scheduled duties for the time being. He explained the current situation, saying, "After hearing about my (resignation) news, the Deputy Prime Minister and the Governor of the Bank of Korea also contacted me and told me that the market situation is difficult and that (resignation) is not acceptable," adding, "Especially since the U.S. is announcing reciprocal tariffs tonight, we agreed to discuss it again at the F4 meeting tomorrow morning." He added, "After the U.S. reciprocal tariffs, we need to observe the exchange rate and financial market situation, so I cannot miss tomorrow's F4 meeting."
Lee said, "I think we need to meet at tomorrow's F4 meeting to discuss market-related issues and response measures before talking about (my position)," but also said, "Realistically, we cannot ignore whether the President will attend the impeachment trial on the 4th, so I think it is most prudent to inform the President of any statement I make."
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