By Park Hyong-ki
The Korea Federation of Banks (KFB) has begun the process to select its new chairman next month.
"The board consisting of chief executives from commercial and regional banks will discuss the matter and review potential candidates over the next month," a federation official said.
The federation will then appoint the successor to Chairman Ha Yung-ku, whose term ends at the end of November.
Two potential choices have emerged, though they have yet to be confirmed. They are Yun Yong-ro, a former vice chairman of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), and Shin Sang-hoon, a former Shinhan Financial Group chief executive.
With rumors surfacing and other financial associations and agencies picking ex-bureaucrats as their new chiefs, the question is: Will the KFB pick an ex-bureaucrat or a former bank executive?
The Korea Exchange (KRX), the operator of the stock bourse, recently announced it had chosen Jung Ji-won as the only candidate for its chairman.
Jung was a bureaucrat who worked at the Ministry of Strategy and Finance and the FSC, who is expected to face some resistance from the KRX union as workers want a professional who will not be politically influenced.
The General Insurance Association of Korea and Korea Life Insurance Association are also eyeing ex-bureaucrats as their new chiefs.
The General Insurance Association has already picked Kim Yong-duk, a former FSC chairman, as its sole candidate.
Whoever the next KFB chairman will be, he or she will face an uphill battle against the brokerage and internet banking industries.
The KFB may need someone who can appeal to the government about banks' needs.
But this will not be easy as the incumbent government does not see the banking sector as leading innovation, and banks further face a tightening of loan regulations due to rising household debt.
As brokerages and internet banks are further moving into the business turf of commercial banks, banks are arguing that the country should equally enforce banking laws on them, especially securities companies that are about to become investment banks.
The Korea Federation of Banks (KFB) has begun the process to select its new chairman next month.
"The board consisting of chief executives from commercial and regional banks will discuss the matter and review potential candidates over the next month," a federation official said.
The federation will then appoint the successor to Chairman Ha Yung-ku, whose term ends at the end of November.
Two potential choices have emerged, though they have yet to be confirmed. They are Yun Yong-ro, a former vice chairman of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), and Shin Sang-hoon, a former Shinhan Financial Group chief executive.
With rumors surfacing and other financial associations and agencies picking ex-bureaucrats as their new chiefs, the question is: Will the KFB pick an ex-bureaucrat or a former bank executive?
The Korea Exchange (KRX), the operator of the stock bourse, recently announced it had chosen Jung Ji-won as the only candidate for its chairman.
Jung was a bureaucrat who worked at the Ministry of Strategy and Finance and the FSC, who is expected to face some resistance from the KRX union as workers want a professional who will not be politically influenced.
The General Insurance Association of Korea and Korea Life Insurance Association are also eyeing ex-bureaucrats as their new chiefs.
The General Insurance Association has already picked Kim Yong-duk, a former FSC chairman, as its sole candidate.
Whoever the next KFB chairman will be, he or she will face an uphill battle against the brokerage and internet banking industries.
The KFB may need someone who can appeal to the government about banks' needs.
But this will not be easy as the incumbent government does not see the banking sector as leading innovation, and banks further face a tightening of loan regulations due to rising household debt.
As brokerages and internet banks are further moving into the business turf of commercial banks, banks are arguing that the country should equally enforce banking laws on them, especially securities companies that are about to become investment banks.
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