Start of Election for the Prominent Goddess Financial Association President... Public vs. Government Interest

[Asia Economy Reporter Yu Je-hoon] The procedure to elect the new chairman of the Credit Finance Association has officially begun. Within the industry, there is an expectation for a chairman with a government background, given the many current issues related to authorities such as digital finance and merchant fee regulations.

According to the financial sector on the 5th, the Credit Finance Association’s Chairman Candidate Recommendation Committee announced the "Notice on the Election of the 13th Chairman of the Credit Finance Association" on the same day. Since former chairman Kim Joo-hyun moved to the position of Financial Services Commission chairman, the Credit Finance Association has been operating under the acting leadership of Executive Director Oh Kwang-man.

Following this announcement, the Credit Finance Association will first accept candidate registrations until the 12th. After the registration period ends, the association will finalize a single candidate through interviews conducted by the recommendation committee, which consists of 15 members: 14 board directors (7 each from card and capital sectors) and 1 auditor. If there are five or more candidates, the committee will hold a first round to shortlist the final candidates and then a second round to recommend a single candidate.

The single candidate recommended by the committee will be finally elected as chairman through a general meeting involving all member companies. An association official stated, "So far, no candidate recommended as a single nominee by the committee has failed at the general meeting," adding, "The appointment process will take about a month."

Although the overall picture is not yet clear in the early stages of the election, names such as former BC Card CEO Seo Jun-hee, former Woori Card CEO Jeong Won-jeon, and former KB Capital CEO Park Ji-woo are being mentioned in the private sector. Among former government officials, former KT Capital CEO Nam Byung-ho (37th Administrative Examination), former Korea Securities Finance President Jeong Wan-gyu (34th Administrative Examination), and former Deposit Insurance Corporation President Wi Sung-baek (32nd Administrative Examination) are reportedly being considered.

The term for the chairman of the Credit Finance Association is three years, with an annual salary reaching about 400 million KRW as of 2019. It is one of the preferred financial institution head positions in the financial sector, mainly occupied by former government officials. In fact, since the transition to a full-time position in 2010, most past chairmen have been former government officials, with Kim Deok-soo, former CEO of KB Kookmin Card, being the only one from the private sector.

There is a noticeable preference within the industry for candidates with government backgrounds. This is due to the importance of communication skills with financial authorities amid pressing issues that will determine the industry's future, such as regulatory relief following the full-scale digital finance rollout and the merchant fee task force (TF), as well as the ongoing global complex crises. An industry insider said, "Both the public and private sectors have excellent understanding of the issues, but past cases show that those who have good chemistry with the government are former government officials."

Some also suggest waiting until the candidate registration deadline to see how the situation develops. In previous public institution appointments, it was not uncommon for individuals who were not initially mentioned or were considered lower-ranked candidates to be selected. A credit industry insider said, "With the former chairman’s promotion to Financial Services Commission chairman, the association’s status seems higher than ever," adding, "We need to wait until the registration deadline to see if new candidates will be added."

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