[Column] 'Gwanpia' Favoritism Controversy, Financial Companies Actually Welcome It

[Asia Economy Reporter Kangwook Cho] On the night of the 10th, during the plenary session of the National Assembly's Special Committee on Budget and Accounts, a sudden verbal confrontation occurred between Park Yong-jin, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Eun Sung-soo, the Chairman of the Financial Services Commission. On that day, Representative Park criticized the revolving door privileges of former Financial Services Commission officials moving to private associations, calling for reform of the preferential treatment system. In response, Chairman Eun retorted, "Saying that is an insult to all public officials."

The very next day, on the 11th, Choi Jong-gu, a former Financial Services Commission chairman who had been mentioned as a candidate for the next chairman of the Korea Federation of Banks, announced that he had no intention of taking the position. It is reported that before the Korea Federation of Banks' Chairman Recommendation Committee (Chair Recommendation Committee) convened that morning, Choi conveyed this intention to Kim Tae-young, the current chairman of the Korea Federation of Banks.

Recently, as the next appointments for heads of various financial associations approach, the financial sector is once again embroiled in the 'Gwanpia (bureaucrat + mafia)' controversy. This is because most of those appointed or mentioned as candidates for financial association heads, including Jung Ji-won, the next chairman of the Korea Non-Life Insurance Association and current chairman of the Korea Exchange, and Yoo Kwang-yeol, the former senior deputy governor of the Financial Supervisory Service who has been nominated as CEO of Seoul Guarantee Insurance, are former bureaucrats.

There are also talks that the next chairman of the Korea Federation of Banks will likely be a former bureaucrat. Besides former Chairman Choi, who declined the candidacy, former Financial Services Commission Chairman Lim Jong-ryong, Kim Yong-hwan, former chairman of NH Nonghyup Financial Group and an administrative examination graduate, Lee Jung-hwan, president of the Korea Housing Finance Corporation, and Min Byung-doo, a former Democratic Party member and former chairman of the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee, are also mentioned.

In the past, the Gwanpia controversy arose because current and former bureaucrats looked out for each other and created positions for themselves. During this process, dissatisfaction grew toward those who were only concerned with securing their positions, neglecting the pressing issues of member companies. In fact, after the Sewol ferry disaster in 2014, Gwanpia was targeted for reform, leading to a decrease in parachute appointments of bureaucrats. However, as bureaucrats hesitated to seek reemployment in public institutions, political figures took over these positions, sparking the 'Jeongpia (politician + mafia)' controversy.

The problem is that the recent atmosphere in the financial sector is showing a different pattern from before. Financial companies, which used to prefer private-sector association heads, are now welcoming former bureaucrats.

The controversy over parachute appointments is not new. However, it is necessary to consider why private financial companies, which previously expressed dissatisfaction with parachute appointees who were only concerned with securing their positions, are now leading efforts to bring in 'competent' former bureaucrats as association heads.

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