Park Hae-choon Returns as NPS Chief
By Kang Shin-who
Staff Reporter
Park Hae-choon, 60, has been recommended for the post of president of the National Pension Service (NPS). This is the first time that a financier from the private sector has been selected for the job of managing the nation's largest institutional investor.
The Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs said it has put forward Park as the sole designee for the top post at the NPS to President Lee Myung-bak. So far, bureaucrats from various government agencies have taken the top position at the pension service.
Park has made a dramatic comeback several months after he quit as Woori Bank CEO after failing to get a vote of confidence from the government.
``We've already finished fine-tuning with Cheong Wa Dae over the selection and Park will be appointed as new president of the NPS,'' a ministry official said. ``We hope he will be successful in carrying out steps to reform the agency.''
Approximately 10 people had applied for the post.
Park, known as an expert in reviving non-viable companies, is expected to reorganize the NPS.
He played a key role in reviving LG Card when it was on the verge of going under due to soaring losses and non-performing assets in the early 2000s.
The National Pension Fund, a wing of the NPS, manages about 220 trillion won ($220 billion) of funds from pension subscribers.