President Ryu Sang-ho of Korea Investment Securities  Co.

President Ryu Sang-ho of Korea Investment and Securities Co. has been retained to serve another one-year term with the company’s board approving the sole recommendation of President Ryu as the next CEO by the Executives Recommendation Committee.

Sources close to the securities firm said the committee recognized the candidate’s achievements in boosting the company’s profit last year, the largest among rival securities firms, and the high popularity of the company’s notes in the market, among many of the achievements spanning the company’s operation.

The committee held a meeting on Feb. 7 led by Chairman Kim Nam-koo and decided to make Ryu the sole candidate to take over the CEO’s position of the company.

The committee said in the recommendation letter that President Ryu, since his first appointment as the CEO in 2007 and until the end of 2017, has done a great job in running the company, displaying outstanding managerial talent for more than a decade in the top position, in explaining the reason for the committee’s recommendation of Ryu as the sole candidate to succeed himself.

The shareholders’ meeting scheduled for March 22 is sure to approve the committee’s recommendation so that he will serve one-year terms for a 12th time.

President Ryu winning another term is a foregone conclusion according to industry sources. The company logged the highest sales and profits in the industry, amounting to 6.2 trillion won and net profit of 525.4 billion won in 2017. He also managed the company well in the IB and ECM sectors, strengthening wealth management to have trust funds rise.

President Ryu plans to issue 5 trillion won in notes for the first time to boot its IB business, and the first for securities firms with the IB operations in the country. The performance of those funds from the issuances of the notes will be reflected in the company’s financial statements at the end of this year.

KIS took over Danpac Securities Co. in Indonesia last year and boosted its Vietnamese subsidiary, KIS Vietnam, to the 7th among the S.E. Asian country’s securities industry through the issuance of securities to boost its capital.

The company has drawn up a plan to boost its IB activities in ASEAN countries this year as part of its strategy to expand its overseas operations. President Ryu joined KIS in 2002 as vice president, following his stints with Daewoo Securities and Meritz Securities. He was promoted to the top manger of the company in 2007 when he was just 47 years old, making him the youngest CEO in the securities industry. 

Brokerage house Korea Investment & Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a mid-sized office building in Washington D.C., Sentinel Square II, for an estimated 200 billion won ($184 million), acting as an agent for two South Korean institutional investors. Citing sources, the Korea Economic Daily reported that Korea Investment agreed to buy Sentinel Square II in the NoMa neighborhood, which is north of Union Station and Capitol Hill in early December. It was selected as a preferred buyer in August. Korea Investment & Securities Co., Ltd. provides financial services and offers securities dealing, brokerage, underwriting, online trading, commercial papers, and asset management services. 

The transaction sees two unidentified institutional investors committing an aggregate 80 billion won ($73.6 million) to a fund established for the acquisition that is managed by Korea Investment. The remaining 120 billion won ($110.4 million) will be borrowed in the US, with the projected returns estimated at between 7 per cent to 8 per cent per annum for a five-year investment period. 

A view of the building where Korea Investment Securities Co. is located.(Photos: KIS)