Financial Investment Association Chairman Election Without Chairman Na Jae-cheol... Five Candidates Begin Fierce Competition (Comprehensive)

Chairman Na Jae-cheol Declares Withdrawal from 6th Financial Investment Association President Election
Competition Expected Among Five Candidates Including Gu Hee-jin, Kim Hae-jun, Seo Myung-seok, Seo Yoo-seok, and Jeon Byung-jo

Nae Jae-cheol, Chairman of the Korea Financial Investment Association, is delivering a congratulatory speech at the 2020 Gold Age Forum held at the Bankers Hall in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 9th. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Junho] Na Jae-cheol, chairman of the Korea Financial Investment Association, has declared that he will not run in the election for the 6th chairman of the Financial Investment Association. Following Chairman Na's announcement not to run, a fierce competition among five candidates is expected to begin this month.

On the 1st, Chairman Na stated in his declaration of non-candidacy, "Although some CEOs of member companies have encouraged me to run again, I have ultimately decided that a new chairman should lead the capital market."

Chairman Na cited his "single-term promise" made during the election as the main reason for not running. He emphasized, "I made a promise, and I cannot break it," adding, "I believe that under no circumstances should the single-term promise be broken, which led to this decision."

During his tenure, there were many achievements such as the introduction of the default option, expansion and reform of the ISA, and advancement of financial investment taxation. There are still many tasks to complete, including the establishment of ATS, and although there were many recommendations from those around me to challenge for re-election, I judged that keeping my promise was the priority.

He particularly evaluated the candidates who have declared their intention to run as "all individuals fully capable of representing the capital market." He added, "The belief that capable association executives and staff can help revitalize the capital market in my stead has lightened my shoulders."

He also judged that declaring candidacy at a time when the credit crunch in the current financial market needs to be resolved would be inappropriate. He stressed, "Despite the government's active response, the situation is still not one to be fully reassured about," and "At this critical time when we must support the normalization of the capital market, it would be a grave mistake for the incumbent chairman to engage in election campaigning." Furthermore, he said, "As chairman, I will do my best to ensure a fair election management during the remainder of my term and to properly complete the tasks I have been pursuing."

With Chairman Na's declaration not to run, it appears that five candidates will register for the next chairman election. Those who have announced their candidacy for the next chairman election are ▲ Gu Hee-jin, former CEO of Daishin Asset Management ▲ Kim Hae-jun, former CEO of Kyobo Securities ▲ Seo Myung-seok, former CEO of Yuanta Securities ▲ Seo Yoo-seok, former CEO of Mirae Asset Global Investments ▲ Jeon Byung-jo, former CEO of KB Securities. However, the industry also sees the possibility of additional candidates emerging, given that Chairman Na was considered a strong front-runner had he decided to run.

The Korea Financial Investment Association is expected to hold an extraordinary board meeting as early as the 3rd to discuss the schedule for the 6th chairman election, including the formation of the Candidate Recommendation Committee (hereafter, CRC). Once the CRC is formed, candidate registration will begin, and a shortlist of three times the number of candidates will be selected for the election. Voting will be conducted by CEOs of regular member companies (385 companies including 59 securities firms, 308 asset management firms, 14 real estate trust companies, and 4 futures firms). Voting rights are allocated differently according to the membership fee contribution rate.

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