South Korea’s new President Yoon Suk-yeol completed forming his first economic team by appointing former financial ministry official and prosecutor to command the financial sector, raising concerns for the independency in financial policy.

On Tuesday, Yoon picked Kim Joo-hyun, chair of the Credit Finance Association to head the Financial Services Commission (FSC), Korea’s top financial policymaking body. After working in various high-ranking positions in financial organizations, including the Financial Ministry, the FSC and the Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation, Kim has led the Credit Finance Association since 2019.

Kim will work with Kim So-young, a Seoul National University economics professor, who was named as the deputy head of the FSC on May 17. She was a member of the presidential transition team, playing a key role in drawing up macroeconomic policy directions for the new administration.

Despite criticism about favoritism towards prosecutors by the chief prosecutor-turned-president, Yoon chose Lee Bok-hyun, former chief public prosecutor at the Seoul Northern District Prosecutors’ Office, as the governor of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), an independent financial watchdog.

The FSS goes under a prosecutor for the first time and could intimidate the financial community as Lee mostly dealt with financial crimes.

Kang Seog-hoon, an economics professor at Sungshin Women’s University who was the senior secretary on economic affairs to former President Park Geun-hye administration and advised Yoon on economic affairs on the campaign team, was named to head policy lender Korea Development Bank (KDB).

The latest appointments of the key positions in the nation’s financial authorities complete the Yoon administration’s new financial team led by Choo Kyung-ho, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance.

By Kim Yoo-sin and Jenny Lee

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