By Oh Young-jin
It may be the last hurdle to the nearly-completed sale of a controlling stake in the Korea Exchange Bank (KEB) by U.S. private equity fund Lone Star to Hana Financial.
Taking into account the quirkiness of election-year politics, Hana and Lone Star can’t tread lightly. One misstep may provoke a backlash that could torpedo the deal.
The cast in what is widely seen as the last chapter of the Lone Star saga includes lawmakers who are ready to do just about anything to be elected in April as well as a significant constituency of unionized workers.
Throw into the mix voters’ rage peaking at the turn of a four-year election cycle, a perfect storm may just evolve that could even turn the steadiest hand into Captain Ahab, threatening to upend a done deal. In this perfect storm, it remains to be seen whether Kim Seok-dong, chairman of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), can prevail. Kim may be regretting his lead role in the Lone Star-Hana deal.
Still, if it were not for Kim, the Lone Star saga would have been stuck where it was. Also supporting Kim’s move was a public that had grown weary of the issue. So capricious is the public opinion that it is hard to predict who will be its next victim.