Kwon Hyuk-se, 55, vice chairman of the Financial Services Commission, has been nominated as the new chief of the Financial Supervisory Service, the country’s top financial watchdog.  

President Lee Myung-bak will be formally appointing Kwon as governor of the organization following a vote today by the members of the Financial Services Commission.

Kwon would afterward be inaugurated on March 28, a couple of days after the current governor Kim Jong-chang’s term ends.

Kwon formerly served in the financial policy bureaus of the Finance Ministry and has held various positions at regulating authorities including the Financial Supervisory Commission, the Securities and Futures Commission and the Financial Services Commission.

The appointment was expected to spawn a number of other personnel moves at the Financial Services Commission, including the seat of vice chairman.

Vice Finance Minister Shin Je-yoon is widely cited as the strongest candidate for the post, industry watchers said.

Meanwhile, the outgoing FSS chief expressed discomfort over the recent disciplinary measures handed down by the nation’s top auditor to hold the organization responsible for wide-spread insolvency in the nation’s savings banks.

Kim told reporters that he feels that every time anything goes wrong, the blame falls on the FSS.

By Kim Ji-hyun
(jemmie@heraldcorp.com)