By Kim Yoo-chul
Staff Reporter
President-elect Lee Myung-bak is expected to create a market-friendly environment in the business community on the back of his deep and rich business networks, even abroad.
Experts have no doubt that Lee's profound connections with influential business figures will continue to be the most interesting issue.
Among others, Kim Seung-yoo, chairman of Hana Financial Holdings, and Hwang Young-key, former chairman of Woori Financial Group, stand out.
Kim leads a group of Korea University alumni with business administration degrees. The head of the nation's fourth-biggest banking institution is rumored as one of Lee's confidants and speculation is running high that he could play the role of an economic advisor in the next government.
Hwang forged a close relationship with the president-elect when he was the chief of Woori Bank. Hwang supported the Grand National Party as an economic policy coordinator during the presidential race.
``He is one of the strong candidates to become the next head of the Financial Supervisory Committee (FSC), the top financial regulator, despite his recent trouble arising from his connection with the Samsung Group,'' a high-ranking FSC official said.
Park Hyun-joo, the Mirae Asset chairman and Chey Tae-won, the SK Group chairman, both of whom graduated from Korea University, are also reportedly on a possible list of Lee's economic advisors.
``As the 66-year-old Lee said companies had been discouraged by `anti-market and anti-business' sentiment under liberal rule over the past decade, figures with a strong background in the financial and industry fields are highly expected to play a bigger role in the next government,'' the official said.
Meanwhile, ``Voters chose `pragmatism' over `ideology','' the president-elect said in his first press conference Thursday morning.
``I pledge to create a `very practical and creative' government and a business-friendly environment to attract more foreign investors,'' he said.