Vice Chairman Ryu Sang-ho of Korea Financial Holdings.

President Chung Il-moon of Korea Investment Securities Co.

Korea Financial Holdings promoted President Ryu Sang-ho of Korea Investment Securities Co. to Vice Chairman of Korea Financial Holdings, while naming Vice President Chung Il-moon to take over from Vice Chairman Ryu to head KIS, Korea Financial Holdings announced on Nov. 23.

Vice Chairman Ryu will leave his legacy behind as the youngest CEO and the longest serving CEO and the first to take up investment banking for a securities firm in a large personnel reshuffle.

The moves are intended to cope with changes in the financial industry and seek new challenges and ways to cope with the changes by shaking up the top personnel of the company.

An official of Korea Financial Holdings said the securities firm is likely to have one of the best years in its operation this year and the company thought that it is the right time to make the moves at the top to seek the ways to cope with the changes in the industry and strengthen synergy among affiliates as they make reforms in their respective operational structures.

Korea Investment Securities (KIS) posted net profit for the first three quarters of this year amounting to 410.9 billion won, up 2.1 percent on year and the largest for the cited period in the company’s history, which is more remarkable as it came while the securities industry as a whole has been sluggish so far, thanks to its overseas operation and the investment banking in particular for the outstanding performance record which had its ROE rising to 12 percent on year.

New president Chung is strengthening the company’s IB and wealth management units, as he was once in charge of the IB headquarters and the individual customer sectors.

He worked for some 28 years in the IB sector to win the reputation as the foremost expert in the area known as the “IB man” along with the accolade as the foremost expert in the IPO sector, spending almost his entire business career with KIS from beginning a clerk and rising to the CEO in the same company.

Chung launched his career with the securities industry by first joining the Dongwon Securities Co., the predecessor of Korea Investment Securities in 1988.

A native of Gwangju, South Jeolla Province, he is a management graduate of Dankook University and completed the top manager courses in MA at Sogang University and Korea University Graduate Schools.

Vice Chairman Ryu was named to head KIS when he was only 48 years old, making him the youngest CEO in the securities industry.

He won many accolades while running the company as the top manager; Ryu was the first CEO in the industry who launched the IB sector for KIS; He led KIS to enter the note issuance market; he managed KIS to set up subsidiaries in Southeast Asian region in Vietnam and Indonesia; He also boosted the company’s capital to 4 trillion won level in 2017 from 1.790 billion won when he took over as the CEO in 2007.

This year he had to vacate the office to move up as the vice chairman of the parent company Korea Financial Holdings.

He has such an extensive experience in overseas operation to the extend he earned “James” as his nickname taken from the name of 007 agent in the popular movies in recognition of so much he accomplished to boost the company’s overseas financial transactions to become a global financial company.

In 2016, KIS was named as a super huge IB operator and as of November last year, it dominated the note issuance market as of November, last year, with its total notes issued during the Jan-Sept. period coming to 3.45 trillion won with a very good chance to reach 4 trillion won for the year.

Vice Chairman Ryu said he thought that this year is the right time to let the younger officers to take over the top manager posts and step down smiling from the high posts.

He thought his top achievements include the successful IPOs for 138 firms and steering the growth of KIS from two to three times more than those firms in competition without going through a single restructuring.

A view of the Korea Investment Securities Co. building in Seoul. (Photos: KIS)