Presidential office reviewing candidates for next central bank governor

Bank of Korea Governor Lee Ju-yeol bangs the gavel to open a Monetary Policy Committee meeting at the central bank in Seoul, Jan. 14. Yonhap

By Yoon Ja-young

Cheong Wa Dae (presidential office) is reviewing possible candidates to replace Bank of Korea (BOK) Governor Lee Ju-yeol, whose term is over at the end of next month.

According to sources, the office has started looking into possible candidates, as Lee's term is set to end on March 31. After making a list of potential candidates, a smaller number of the candidates will then be recommended to the President, after undergoing a screening process by Cheong Wa Dae staff. The President then nominates one of them as the final candidate and requests the consent of, as well as a confirmation hearing by, the National Assembly.

Financial industry watchers widely expect Cheong Wa Dae to come up with its nomination of the final candidate only after the March 9 presidential election, so as to reflect the decision of the next president who will be working with the new governor.

As a result, economic experts who have joined the camps of the presidential candidates are being mentioned as potential candidates to lead the central bank. They are: Ha Joon-kyung, an economics professor at Hanyang University who joined the camp of ruling Democratic Party of Korea presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung, and Seoul National University economics professor Kim So-young, who joined the camp of Yoon Suk-yeol, the presidential candidate of the main opposition People Power Party.

Also being mentioned as potential candidates are BOK Senior Deputy Governor Lee Seung-heon, as well as his predecessor Yoon Myun-shik. Additionally, Rhee Chang-yong, the director of the Regional Office for Asia and Pacific at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), as well as Shin Hyun-song, Economic Advisor for the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), are among potential candidates.

BOK monetary policy board members Cho Yoon-je and Lim Ji-won are also among those who are being mentioned as candidates for the position. Cho has been dubbed the “economics tutor” of President Moon, and Lim is an expert who worked as an economist for JPMorgan Chase.

Current Governor Lee started his first four-year term back in April 2014, following his appointment by former President Park Geun-hye. He then served for another four years, as his term was extended by President Moon Jae-in in 2018. Lee was the first BOK governor to serve a second term. However, he is not permitted to serve a third term. If the presidential office fails to nominate a final candidate on time, there is the possibility of the central bank being run by a deputy governor as an interim leader before the next administration comes into power in May.