New President Lee Dong-gull of the Korea Development Bank said he will stick with principles and support government policies in running the KDB. He said the restructuring of business firms should not favor big conglomerates, must be fair to all, and be of help to the national economy. He said the KDB should support reformative business firms and create an ecological environment for those firms to grow into large conglomerates in the future, making their business operations more dynamic.
He said he will see that the KDB reduces its financial support to large firms down the road while boosting support to startups and venture firms through such facilities as loans, direct investments and investments through platforms. He also said he is positive that Kumho Tire may recover its normal operation if the interested parties share the burden of their pain together.
He made the statement at his first media briefing since taking over as the chairman and CEO of KDB at a Sept. 11 inauguration ceremony at the bank’s Yeouido head office, drawing the distinct line that his views have nothing to do with Chairman Park Sam-koo of Kumho Tire. He said the bank has been studying the foundations of the tire maker’s financial problems that occurred so soon after its graduation from a debt workout in 2015 so that KDB can ascertain the tire maker’s possibility for survival.
He said it is difficult to judge the recovery of the tire maker based on the survival plan submitted by the chairman’s side, as KDB is still reviewing the plan. He said his optimistic view on the recovery of the tire manufacturer is not based on the judgment of the survival plan drawn up by the chairman’s side.
In the KDB chairman’s view, the interested parties include shareholders, employees, creditors and local authorities where the tire plant is located, who can and should do their best to help the tire maker get back on its feet.
He said KDB will decide whether to accept the survival plan handed in by the Kumho Tire. The chairman said the KDB delivered gift packages including bags of rice, boxes of confectionaries and gifts of daily necessities on the occasion of the Chusok to the senior residents in 350 homes through the Senior Citizens Welfare Home and some 60 old people's homes in Yeongdungpo Ward in Seoul as it has been doing since 2006 as part of its social service activities.
Some 30 KDB social service volunteers visited some 80 homes where senior citizens live to console them confirming their health conditions. The KDB Social Service Vollunteer Team also delivered the consolation money and gifts to the 10 welfare facilities that have ties with KDB. The KDB and the volunteer service team will continue to share warmth and love with the economically displaced neighbors in the days ahead.
Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Choi Jong-ku recommended Prof. Lee Dong-gull, 64, as the next chairman of the Korea Development Bank.
The new CEO has previously served as president of the local think tank the Korea Institute of Finance, a vice chairman of the Financial Supervisory Commission — a precursor to the FSC — and a researcher at the Korea Development Institute.
He holds a Ph.D in financial economics from Yale University.
The Korea Development Bank (KDB) announced on July 13 that the bank will invest about $130 million in the Haikou International Airport Expansion Project in Hainan Province, China, one of China’s “One Belt, One Road” Projects.
The project is a large-scale US$2.8 billion national project supported by the Chinese central government and the Hainan provincial government. The KDB invests in this project by creating a private equity fund (PEF) in Korea. Hainan Province is a representative tourism and logistics hub in the southernmost part of China and the core of the “One Belt, One Road” Projects. Haikou International Airport is the largest airport in Hainan Province which is used by 20 million people a year. The airport has a stable business structure such as running the only domestic duty free shop in China.
In addition, the KDB plays an active role in Korean enterprises’ participation in infrastructure projects through the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) led by China. (Advertorial)
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