Sohn Byung-doo, former vice chairman of the Financial Services Commission, was named as the single candidate for the new chair post of the Korea Exchange, South Korea’s sole bourse operator, according to industry sources Tuesday.

After conducting final interviews of three candidates a day earlier, the KRX’s chairman recommendation committee chose Sohn, insiders said without giving the names of the two others. The securities exchange operator is slated to hold a shareholders’ general meeting on Dec. 18 to appoint the candidate, they added.

The former FSC vice chief is a seasoned bureaucrat who spent more than 30 years in civil service, according to observers. He worked at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the presidential office and then the FSC.

If approved by shareholders, Sohn is to fill the KRX’s leadership vacuum, left vacant since former Chairman Jung Ji-won departed to take the chairman post at the General Insurance Association of Korea last month.

Sohn’s sole candidacy, however, has drawn opposition from unionized workers at the KRX, who are demanding the stock market operator ban the hiring of former government officials.

Since 2005 when the KRX was relaunched as an integrated organization to operate the nation’s stock market, five out of six chiefs have come from government offices, including the FSC and Finance Ministry.

The new KRX chairman’s term is to end in 2023.

By Jie Ye-eun (yeeun@heraldcorp.com)