By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter
The government has appointed Lee Chae-wook, president of GE Healthcare Asia Growth Markets as the new president of Incheon International Airport, the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs said Sunday. Lee, 62, will take the helm for the next three years.
His appointment comes as the government seeks to privatize the international airport despite controversy over the plan.
The administration said in August that it would sell a 49-percent stake in the state-owned airport to a foreign airport operator, saying this was a global trend and that Incheon will be able to develop through more effective management.
Critics and the airport union, however, oppose the plan. They claim the airport is already good in terms of profitability and services ― it recorded over 200 billion won in net profit last year and was named best airport in the world for three consecutive years by Airports Council International.
Another controversy, is the rumor that the government favors Macquarie for the deal as President Lee Myung-bak's nephew works for the Australian financial group. The new Incheon chief Lee's son-in-law also worked for Macquarie until January last year.
Born in Sangju, North Gyeongsang Province in 1946, Lee majored in law at Yeungnam University and graduated from Korea University's Graduate School of International Studies.
He entered Samsung Corp. in 1972 and became the head of Samsung-GE. Lee started working at GE in 1996, and was named president of GE Korea in 2002, and chairman and national executive of the company in 2005.
Since January 2007, he has been president of GE Healthcare Asia Growth Markets.