Yoo Myung-soon, interim chief executive officer of Citibank Korea, was recommended as the sole candidate for the bank‘s top post, paving the way for her to become the first female CEO of the local branch of the US lender.

The appointment recommendation committee under the South Korean subsidiary of the New York-based bank is set to confirm the appointment of Yoo during a general meeting of stockholders and board of directors slated to be held on Oct. 27.

Yoo, the bank‘s senior executive vice president, who was tapped to serve as an interim CEO from September after Citibank’s longtime chief Park Jin-hei stepped down, would become the first female leader in the bank’s history and the second woman to helm a major Korean bank, following Kwon Sun-joo, who led Industrial Bank of Korea for three years from 2014 to 2016. 

Yoo, a veteran financier with more than 30 years of experience, joined Citibank Korea in 1987 after graduating from Ewha Womans University. She built her career specializing in corporate banking. She also played a leading role in launching South Korea desks in Vietnam and across Europe to serve Korean multinational clients and increase the bank‘s global competitiveness, according to officials.

By Choi Jae-hee (cjh@heraldcorp.com)