Chairman Gwak Bum-gook of Korea Deposit Insurance Corp. speaks at his inaugural ceremony on May 27 (Photos:KDIC) 

Gwak Bum-gook, a former senior researcher for the ruling Saenuri Party, was inaugurated as the Chairman and President of the Korea Deposit Insurance Corp.(KDIC) on May 27. Yoon Chang-keun, a former branch manager of the KDB Daewoo Securities Co., was also named as auditor of KDIC on May 7.

The new CEO said in his inaugural statement that he would try to boost the health of the firm to minimize the burden on the people and provide a deposit insurance service that is in harmony with self-rule and responsibility. He also promised to make an effort to improve the deposit insurance system in step with changes in the financial industry in Korea.

He also stressed that both officers and staff of the KDIC should do their utmost to carry out the company’s social responsibility as a public company with pride and self-esteem.

He said the global financial market is not out of the clear due mainly to the Greek financial crisis and a slowdown of the Chinese economy. The domestic financial market has yet to take care of the low industrial competitive strength compared to the scale of the national economy and debts accumulated in certain areas, with the financial institutions having to struggle to boost profits due to low interest rates.

The new CEO said the KDIC should first make an effort to boost the health of the financial institution and thus raise public trust in the financial market in Korea. KDIC should lead the sale of government stakes in Woori Financial Group as fast as it could.

The KDIC should talk with the concerned officials of the financial authorities to resolve its high debts from the restructuring of the savings banks. The KDIC should also do all it can to sell the assets owned by the default foundation so that the KDIC’s funds can be recovered.

The KDIC should watch large financial institutions debts that may not be turned over to the taxpayers to take care of and become burdens.

Gwak also said KDIC should provide its services in harmony with self-rule and responsibility. In order to do that the company should try to create an environment conducive to such an environment to provide support to the financial industry to build such capacities by itself.

The new CEO also said the deposit insurance system should be improved so it is in line with changes in the financial industry, including the diversification of financial products. The changes in the financial industry created a number of dead corners, and they should be taken care of as soon as possible.

Every move to improve the deposit insurance system should be made toward boosting the system so it is a top model in the world with unique advantages , the new chairman and president said.

Gwak said he is confident that the KDIC will be able to accomplish what he noted above as it has special experience and knowhow to overcome various crises that visited the financial industry so far that threatened the survival of the industry.

“We should always be prepared to cope with the crises that would hurt the financial industry as a strong break wave with the company to celebrate its 20th anniversary next year,” Gwak said. “We should collect all our wisdom and be ready to spend all the energy we got to make the company to create a new field for its new take off as a young man in his 20s.”

Gwak, an economics graduate of Hanyang University in Seoul, got an MBA from Oregon University in Eugene, Oregon, in the U.S. He earned his doctorate in economics from Hanyang University.

He passed the 28th Public Servant Exam and entered the International Cooperation Bureau of the Ministry of Strategy and Finance and served at the Presidential Office as the Presidential Secretary in charge of policy coordination. He rose to be the Assistant Minister in charge of the National Treasury at the Ministry of Strategy and Finance before joining the ruling Saenuri Party as a senior policy research staff.