Anna Jiwon Park has been covering the politics at The Korea Times since the summer of 2024, when she joined the press pool for the Office of the President in Korea. Prior to that, she spent about five years reporting extensively on financial markets, regulatory authorities and the financial industry. She joined The Korea Times in 2019 after spending eight years as a broadcast journalist at Arirang TV, Korea’s leading global broadcaster, covering politics, defense and culture.
Toss Bank to appoint first female CEO in internet-only banking industry
Rhee Eun-mi, sole candidate of Toss Bank's next CEO / Courtesy of Toss Bank
By Anna J. Park
Toss Bank has nominated Rhee Eun-mi, former CFO of DGB Daegu Bank, as the sole candidate for its next CEO for a two-year term, the internet-only bank said Wednesday.
If the appointment is finalized with approval from the board of directors at the bank's regular shareholders' meeting on March 28, Rhee will become the first female CEO in the internet-only banking sector, as well as the fourth-ever female bank CEO in Korea.
The digital bank said that its executive candidate nomination committee had unanimously recommended her earlier this week as the sole candidate for the CEO position, after holding a series of meetings to identify and validate candidates who can contribute to Toss Bank's continual growth, innovation and stability.
"Rhee's extensive expertise and experience encompassing both domestic and international domains that resulted in organizational management skills and insight qualify her as the optimal leader for Toss Bank," the nomination recommendation committee said.
The committee highly evaluated Rhee's ample experience as a bank CFO for over a decade, which has given her exceptional risk management capabilities. The committee said her serving as the CFO as well as the chief of management planning at DGB Daegu Bank had contributed significantly to the regional bank's successful transition to a national commercial bank.
The internet-only bank also praised her global perspectives and cross-border management capabilities built through her work experience as the CFO of HSBC in Hong Kong, overseeing 16 countries in the Asia-Pacific region. She also worked as the deputy head at HSBC's Seoul branch, and CFO at Deutsche Bank's Seoul operation.
Born in 1973, Rhee studied computer science at Sogang University. Afterward, she earned MBA degrees from Columbia University, London Business School and the University of Hong Kong. She holds licenses as a Certified Public Accountant in the U.S., Chartered Financial Analyst and Financial Risk Manager.