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| Financial Services Commission Chairman Choi Jong-ku |
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| Former FSC Vice Chairman Kim Yong-beom |
Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Choi Jong-ku said Thursday he had recently offered to resign, ahead of an expected cabinet reshuffle which is expected to take place in August.
"I recently tendered my resignation to President Moon Jae-in to widen the scope of his choice before the expected reshuffle," Choi told reporters at the Government Complex in Seoul.
He has been highly expected to be replaced in the forthcoming cabinet changes.
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| Eximbank CEO Eun Sung-soo |
Although his term will end in July 2020, officials in the finance industry had expected Choi to step down soon, because none of his predecessors completed their terms.
Most of them served as FSC chairmen for about two years.
Choi, the first FSC head under the Moon Jae-in administration, will mark the second anniversary of his inauguration Friday.
Some observers expect he will run for a National Assembly seat in the general election in April 2020.
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| Former Senior Presidential Secretary for Economic Affairs Yoon Jong-won |
However, he has strongly denied this.
Against this backdrop, several financial experts have been mentioned as candidates for the next chairman.
In addition to former FSC Vice Chairman Kim Yong-beom, those most often mentioned include Export-Import Bank of Korea (Eximbank) CEO Eun Sung-soo, former senior presidential secretary for economic affairs Yoon Jong-won, Korea Development Bank (KDB) Chairman Lee Dong-geol and NH NongHyup Financial Group Chairman Kim Kwang-soo.
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| KDB Chairman Lee Dong-geol |
Finance industry officials expect Choi's successor will be a former bureaucrat.
They said the administration will seek a former or incumbent government official who can continue to carry out the regulator's current financial policies as planned.
Among the five leading candidates, four have passed the Public Administration Examination.
KDB Chairman Lee, who was previously a left-wing professor, is the only one who did not pass the exam.
However, he did work as a government official in the Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun administrations.
Eximbank CEO Eun, who started his career at the finance ministry, is considered to be the strongest candidate.
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| NH NongHyup Financial Group Chairman Kim Kwang-soo |
He inherited Choi's position as chief of the government-run bank, when Choi was appointed FSC chairman in July 2017.
He is regarded as an expert in international finance, because he previously served as the ministry's international finance bureau head, World Bank executive director and Korea Investment Corporation CEO.
The remaining three have also had long careers at government ministries related to the economy and finance.
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