Yoon Jeung-hyun Designated as New FSC Chairman

President Roh Moo-hyun yesterday accepted the resignation of Lee Jung-jae, chairman of the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC), and designated Yoon Jeung-hyun (58), executive director of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), as the new FSC chairman.

President Roh also designated Choi Hong-geon (61), president of Korea Polytechnic University, as chairman of the Presidential Commission on Small and Medium Enterprises (PCSME). The post of PCSME chairman has been vacant for the past five months.

“Yoon, as a financial specialist who was once executive director of ADB and chief of the Financial Policy Bureau in the Ministry of Finance and Economy, is expected to resolve outstanding issues wisely, such as the advancement of financial supervision,” said Jeong Chan-yong, presidential secretary of personnel affairs. Yoon will be officially appointed as the FSC chairman today through the deliberation of the State Council.

As for incoming PCSME Chairman Choi, Jeong said, “As an industrial policy specialist who has worked for the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy and the Small and Medium Business Administration (SMBA), he is expected to push ahead actively with a policy for the empowerment of small or medium sized enterprises.”

Meanwhile, Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kim Jong-min explained, “Former FSC Chairman Lee expressed his will to resign many times prior to the inspection into the credit card crisis, and President Roh had dissuaded Lee from resigning but has now accepted it this time.”

Young-Hae Choi yhchoi65@donga.com