Korea First Bank Chairman to Step Down

Korean First Bank (KFB) fired Chairman Wilfred Horie on Oct. 23 and informally designated Robert Cohen, the bank`s non-standing director (age 52), as chairman.

KFB is planning to hold a meeting of trustees on Oct. 27 and appoint officially Cohen chairman.

Concerning this, banking industry analysts said that Horie stepped down due to poor business operations resulting from the bank`s heavy loan to some firms, including Hynix Semiconductor and Heung Chang, and retail banking`s inability to meet the expectation.

KFB Board of Trustees Chairman Robert Banum said, ``Horie has secured the first step towards the normalization of KFB`s business operations.`` and ``Informally designated chairman Cohen is a man of exalted knowledge about company financing and crisis management, and thus expected to contribute to making the bank worldly known.``

hcs@donga.com