Donggeol Lee, Chairman of Korea Development Bank, on First Day of Reappointment: "Let's Move Forward with a Nomad Spirit"

Urging Future-Oriented Efforts Before All Executives and Employees
Securing Continuity and Strong Momentum in Policy Finance Work with Chairman Lee's Reappointment
Active Support for Innovative Growth Including Visits to Innovative Companies on the Last Day of First Term

[Asia Economy Reporter Kangwook Cho] "'With the humble spirit of 'Nomasipga (駑馬十駕),' let us take one more step forward to build the future industries of the Republic of Korea.'

On the first day of his reappointment on the 11th, Lee Dong-geol, Chairman of the Korea Development Bank (KDB), conveyed this message to all employees and presented five directions for the bank's future path. 'Nomasipga (駑馬十駕)' means 'Even a slow horse can follow a heavenly steed if it pulls a cart for ten days,' emphasizing the importance of effort.

According to KDB, on the day he began his second term as the 39th chairman, Lee emphasized to employees that despite crises such as the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the bank must continue moving forward based on three pillars: ▲innovative growth, ▲corporate restructuring, and ▲organizational change and innovation, while maintaining a balance in policy finance toward the future.

He also stated that overcoming the COVID-19 crisis and restructuring insolvent companies ultimately culminates in innovative growth and fostering new industries and enterprises, thus the support for innovative growth and the Fourth Industrial Revolution finance must be further strengthened. In particular, he noted that COVID-19 is an unprecedented opportunity for digital transformation, and as a policy bank, KDB must play a leading role in global issues such as climate change and energy transition.

Furthermore, Chairman Lee expressed his aspiration that "KDB's competitiveness is directly linked to the competitiveness of Korean finance, and thus the network of cooperation and competition with private financial institutions must be further strengthened, enabling KDB to develop from a financial and economic hub into a global policy finance institution." Lastly, he urged the creation of a more open organization where experts from various fields and convergent talents can gather and work at KDB.

Lee Dong-geol, Chairman of the Korea Development Bank (fifth from the left), continued his on-site visits to innovative companies by visiting Fresh Easy's Yongin plant, the nation's top meal kit company, on the 10th, the last day of his first term.

On the last day of his first term, the day before, Chairman Lee visited the Yongin factory of Fresh Easy Co., Ltd., the nation's top meal kit company, continuing his on-site visits to innovative companies that had been temporarily halted due to COVID-19. During his meeting with Jung Joong-kyo, CEO of Fresh Easy, he explained KDB's unwavering commitment and role in nurturing innovative companies, including next-generation unicorn companies.

This visit to Fresh Easy reflected Chairman Lee's belief that KDB must play a leading role in structural industrial transformation and generational change in companies. Going forward, KDB plans to further strengthen the discovery and support of growth engines that will lead Korea's future industries through differentiated venture capital supply.

KDB stated, "With Chairman Lee's reappointment, KDB will continue to play a central role in overcoming the COVID-19 crisis, support the Korean New Deal policy as a representative policy finance institution, resolve major corporate restructuring issues, and promote the activation of the innovative growth ecosystem, thereby maintaining continuity in policy finance operations and securing strong momentum."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.