Choi Hee-moon, Vice Chairman of Meritz Securities, Stands Out as the Industry's Longest-Serving CEO

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seon-ae] Choi Hee-moon, Vice Chairman and CEO of Meritz Securities, is set to become the longest-serving CEO in the industry. Having led Meritz Securities for over 10 years since taking office in 2010, he has been nominated as the sole CEO candidate, effectively securing his reappointment.

According to the financial investment industry on the 9th, Meritz Securities plans to hold a shareholders' meeting on the 17th to approve the reappointment of Vice Chairman Choi as an inside director. The Executive Nomination Committee recommended Vice Chairman Choi for the inside director position. The Executive Nomination Committee is a committee within the Meritz Securities board of directors, consisting of three members: Vice Chairman Choi, and outside directors Lee Sang-chul and Kim Hyun-wook. The board stated, “Based on practical experience and expertise, they share the company’s vision and philosophy,” and “Having confirmed that he can strive for public interest and sound management, the Executive Nomination Committee unanimously recommended Vice Chairman Choi as the CEO candidate.”

If Vice Chairman Choi succeeds in his reappointment, it will mark his 13th year as CEO since 2010, and with a guaranteed new three-year term, he will serve as CEO for 16 years. He will be the undisputed longest-serving CEO among domestic securities firms. The longest-serving CEO in the industry’s history was former Kyobo Securities President Kim Hae-jun, who served for 13 years from June 2008 to March last year.

The driving force behind the longest-serving CEO title is record-breaking performance. Meritz Securities achieved its highest-ever performance in 2021. On a consolidated basis, operating profit reached 948.9 billion KRW, and net profit was 782.9 billion KRW. Compared to 2020, operating profit increased by 14.6%, and net profit rose by 38.5%. Pre-tax profit also exceeded 1 trillion KRW for the first time in history.

Return on equity (ROE) is also remarkable. The ROE for 2021 was 15.5%. The company has recorded double-digit ROE for eight consecutive years. Especially after CEO Choi took office in February 2010, the size of equity capital grew rapidly. Equity capital, which was 529.5 billion KRW at the end of 2009, grew more than tenfold over 12 years.

A Meritz Securities official said, “Net profit, operating profit, and pre-tax profit have set new records for five consecutive years since 2017,” and “Despite the rapid increase in equity capital, capital utilization was enhanced to improve ROE.”

The background of the strong performance is competitiveness in corporate finance (IB). Meritz Securities particularly stands out in real estate project financing (PF). Most of the IB division’s profits come from real estate PF underwriting and debt guarantee fees. Last year, the company successfully completed large-scale deals such as the Magok MICE complex and the Itaewon UN Command site. Notably, the Magok MICE complex project financing involved 43 domestic financial institutions, with a scale reaching 2.5 trillion KRW. This is the largest real estate PF case ever undertaken by the domestic securities industry.

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