Incoming bourse operator chief fuels optimism in countering Korea discount

Jeong Eun-bo, the CEO nominee of the Korea Exchange, speaks during a meeting with financial services companies in Seoul in January 2022 when he was governor of the Financial Supervisory Service. Korea Times file

Jeong Eun-bo, the incoming chief of the country’s sole bourse operator Korea Exchange (KRX), is drawing attention for his decades of financial expertise on the government’s path to boost the prices of undervalued stocks.

A former governor of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), Jeong was nominated as the next KRX CEO in January. He will be officially appointed to the job Thursday, if the KRX shareholders endorse his nomination during their regular meeting the day before.

“Jeong is very likely to win approval from the shareholders, given his track record as a seasoned financial bureaucrat and his in-depth knowledge on macroeconomic issues as well as the equity market,” an industry source said.

The source noted Jeong’s priority will be formulating detailed measures on the "Corporate Value-up Program" in consultation with the Financial Services Commission (FSC).

The commission first announced the general plan for the program in mid-January and will release details this month.

The program is aimed at countering the so-called “Korea discount” — undervaluation or higher-risk premium of Korean stocks compared to their global peers.

It is attributed to regulatory policies, corporate governance and geopolitical risks, which Jeong has been dealing with since he became a financial bureaucrat in the 1980s and climbed the ladder thereafter.

He served as the deputy finance minister from 2013 to 2016. He was promoted to the FSC vice chairman afterward, before serving as the FSS chief from 2021 to 2022.

He was hired at Korea Insurance Research Institute as a research adviser before his KRX CEO nomination.

“Jeong will fit his new job considering he is required to work closely with both the FSC and the FSS as he is already familiar with those two institutions,” another source said.