Meritz Appoints Representative Born in '72... Securities Industry Gets Younger

Meritz Financial Group Appoints 'IB Expert' Kim Jong-min as Co-CEO of Meritz Securities
Average Age of Top 10 Securities Firms Decreases with '1960s-born' Executives

Meritz Financial Group has lowered the average age of CEOs among the top 10 securities firms by appointing Kim Jong-min, born in 1972, as co-CEO of Meritz Securities. Following the wave of 'generation change' in the securities industry that began late last year, CEOs born in the 1970s have now taken center stage.

According to the financial investment industry on the 23rd, Kim Jong-min, the newly appointed co-CEO and Vice President of Meritz Securities as of the previous day, was born in 1972 and is the only CEO among the top 10 securities firms currently in office who was born in the 1970s.

Kim, the new co-CEO, will lead the company alongside the existing CEO Jang Won-jae. Kim will be in charge of the corporate finance (IB) division and management, while Jang will oversee S&T (Sales & Trading) and retail.

Looking at the current CEOs of major domestic securities firms, most were born in the mid to late 1960s. Oh Ik-geun, CEO of Daishin Securities, who successfully renewed his term this year, and Kim Sung-hyun, co-CEO of KB Securities, were both born in 1963, making them among the oldest. Heo Sun-ho, co-CEO of Mirae Asset Securities, and Kim Sung-hwan, CEO of Korea Investment & Securities, were born in 1969, placing them among the younger group.

Regarding the youngest CEOs in the history of the securities industry, there is Lee Eun-hyung, former CEO of Hana Securities (formerly Hana Financial Investment), who completed his term at the end of 2022 and was born in 1974. Yoo Sang-ho, Senior Vice Chairman of Korea Investment & Securities, who was previously the youngest CEO, also became a securities CEO at the same age as Lee. This recent appointment is considered the most groundbreaking personnel move in the past two years since Lee's tenure.

This appointment is interpreted as a reflection of Meritz Financial Group's atmosphere that favors younger leadership. In fact, there is an even younger CEO within Meritz Financial Group: Kim Jung-hyun, born in 1977, CEO of Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance. Last November, the group conducted a 'One Meritz' holding company-centered personnel reshuffle, appointing Kim Jung-hyun, then Chief Financial Officer (CFO), as the new head of Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance.

Kim Jong-min, an IB expert, has served as head of asset management at Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance since 2014, conducting investments in various fields such as domestic real estate project financing (PF), overseas alternative investments, and corporate loans. Since November last year, he has concurrently served as Vice President of the Group Asset Management Division at Meritz Financial Group, overseeing the group’s overall fund management as Chief Investment Officer (CIO).

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