Lee Yeon-woo is a financial journalist at The Korea Times. Her wide range of reporting includes policies, macroeconomics, stock market, companies and even crypto. She is passionate about connecting the dots in Korean finance and making it easier for foreign nationals to understand. Based on her previous experience as a national reporter, she also has a keen interest in social issues within the sector, including gender equality and ESG. Your tips and insights are always appreciated. You can send them to yanu@koreatimes.co.kr.
Race for Korea Financial Investment Association chair heats up ahead of Dec. election
From left, Korea Financial Investment Association Chairman Seo Yoo-seok, Shinyoung Securities co-CEO Hwang Seong-yeop, former CEO of KB Asset Management Lee Hyun-seung and former CEO of KB Securities Park Jeong-rim / Courtesy of each company
By Lee Yeon-woo
Competition is intensifying ahead of the Korea Financial Investment Association’s (KOFIA) chairperson election in December, drawing strong interest from its nearly 400 member firms, industry officials said Sunday.
Two candidates have officially entered the race: Hwang Seong-yeop, co-CEO of Shinyoung Securities, and Lee Hyun-seung, former CEO of KB Asset Management.
Hwang is a seasoned industry veteran who joined Shinyoung Securities in 1987 and has remained with the firm since. Over the decades, he has held leadership roles across key divisions, including asset management, corporate business and investment banking, before becoming co-CEO.
Hwang’s vision focuses on transforming Korea's bank-dominated financial system into one led by investment banking, with KOFIA playing a central role in the shift.
Lee, meanwhile, offers experience spanning both the public and private sectors. A former Ministry of Finance and Economy official, he has held senior posts at Merrill Lynch, SK Securities, Koramco Asset Management and Hyundai Asset Management.
Lee has pledged to use his experience to strengthen regulatory dialogue and accelerate the growth of Korea’s capital markets.
Whether current KOFIA Chairman Seo Yoo-seok will seek a second term is emerging as a key variable in the upcoming election.
Appointed in January 2023, Seo is credited with several achievements, including efforts to boost stock market valuations. He is regarded internally as a unifying leader, fueling speculation that he could be a strong contender if he seeks a second term.
However, the fact that no KOFIA chairperson has ever served consecutive terms could weigh against a potential bid. Seo is expected to announce his decision later this month.
Another widely discussed potential candidate is Park Jeong-rim, former CEO of KB Securities and currently an outside director at SK Securities.
Park previously held key positions at Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, the National Pension Service and KB Kookmin Bank before making history in 2019 as the first woman appointed CEO of a Korean securities firm. If she enters the race and is elected, she would also become the first woman to head KOFIA.
She is carefully weighing a bid, according to sources.
"While the KOFIA chair is largely seen as a position of service, it also carries symbolic weight as the industry's leading figure," an industry official said. "Additional candidates still under the radar may enter the race after the Chuseok holiday (in mid-October), so it's worth keeping an eye on the situation until the very end."
Seo, the sixth chairman of KOFIA, is set to end his term on Dec. 31. KOFIA plans to form a recommendation committee in November. Once the committee finalizes the shortlist of candidates, an extraordinary general meeting is expected around mid-December, during which a vote will take place.