South Korea’s financial regulator said Thursday it had replaced three senior deputy governors at the Financial Supervisory Service, appointing the incumbent head of the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit as the FSS’s first senior deputy governor.

Kim Geun-ik was officially named as the financial watchdog’s first senior deputy governor by the Financial Services Commission during its temporary meeting on Thursday morning, officials said. The KoFIU is the FSS’ lead agency that oversees efforts to stop money laundering and the terrorism financing in local financial markets.

Under the related regulations, the appointment of the FSS’ senior deputy governors should be confirmed by the FSC upon the recommendation of the governor of the FSS.

Kim, 55, joined the FSC in 2001 and worked in senior posts at a number of departments, including financial restructuring, bank examination and financial consumer policy. In 2016, he also served as the vice president of a special joint committee on deregulation led by the Cabinet. 

On the same day, the FSC also promoted the two incumbent deputy governors, Choi Seong-il and Kim Do-in to the senior deputy governors of the FSS’ bank supervision and capital market supervision department, respectively. 

A former deputy governor of strategic supervision department, Choi, 56, built his career in the supervision coordination, IT and bank supervision departments. 

Kim, 57, known for his expertise in asset management supervision, has served as a deputy governor of financial investment services supervision department since 2017. 

Meanwhile, under the leadership of the first senior deputy governor, a total of three senior deputy governors come to take over bank supervision, capital market supervision and financial consumer protection divisions, respectively, according to the FSC’s operating rules. Earlier in March, the FSC appointed Kim Eun-kyung, 54, a professor from the Law School of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, as the senior deputy governor for the financial consumer protection sector.

Talks over whether to cancel the first senior deputy governor position were being held, but the financial authorities have yet to reach a conclusion. 

The newly-appointed senior deputy governors’ term ends in June 2023. 

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