Korea Investment Corporation (KIC) marks the second KIC ESG Day on Oct. 7 at KIC headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul, with officials in charge of overseas investment in the domestic public sector, including those from pension funds and mutual aid associations. Choi Hee-nam, CEO of KIC speaks in an event of the second KIC ESG Day. (Photo: KIC)

Choi Hee-nam, chairman and CEO of Korea Investment Corp. (KIC), has been appointed the Korean government's ambassador for financial cooperation. He expressed his ambition to sharpen the nation’s financial competitiveness.

“The expansion of financial competitiveness begins from securing excellent human resources and experience, trust and proper sizes based on networks,” Choi Hee-nam said at the 2020 Seoul International Financial Conference held at the Conrad Hotel in Yeouido, Seoul on Nov. 5.

“We should be able to transform Seoul into a financial hub by sharpening the global competitiveness of Korean financial institutions.”

Choi also expressed his will to do his best in fulfilling his responsibilities, saying, “Mutual cooperation between the government and the private sector holds the key to attaining this goal.”

As an ambassador for financial cooperation, Choi will actively contribute to the government's financial-related diplomatic activities and serve as a representative of Korea in the international financial market.

 
Choi expected his top priority to be supporting the government’s quick response with high-quality information and advice in the international financial market order which will change after the U.S. presidential election.

“We will ultimately step up our efforts to strengthen our overall financial competitiveness including attracting foreign financial companies by utilizing our human networks and expertise,” Choi said.

“KIC is building a wide global network with advanced global financial companies, sovereign wealth funds, and pension funds,” Choi said.

“We will discuss various ways to develop the nation's financial industry with financial and diplomatic authorities such as the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Financial Services Commission by using KIC's financial network.”

Choi was appointed as an ambassador for financial cooperation on Nov. 3. He is one of the international financial and macroeconomic experts representing Korea.

Choi served as a standing director of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) and an international economic manager at the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.

Choi has been serving as president of the KIC since March 2018.

In the meantime, Korean institutional investors in the public sector gathered in one place to discuss global environmental, social and governance (ESG) investment strategies.

KIC held the second KIC ESG Day at KIC Headquarters with officials in charge of overseas investment in the public sector including pension funds and mutual aid associations in Korea on Oct. 7.

At the event, the KIC Investment Planning Office first made a presentation to introduce trends in global ESG investment and KIC’s responsible investment policies.

Claudia Wearmouth, joint managing director of responsible investment at BMO Global Asset Management, explained to participating agencies about how to contribute to the return of responsible investments through cases of overseas pension funds.

Based on the presentations, participants exchanged opinions on how to apply ESG trends to Korean institutional investors, and examined the current status and future of global ESG investment among others.

The ESG Day was held for the second time this year after the first one in 2019 as part of the KIC’s efforts to promote responsible investment-based communications.

Due to the Corona 19 situation, only a few people attended the event in person and others participated in the event through live online broadcasting.

“ESG has become an irresistible and unstoppable global trend, and Korean institutional investors are also required to actively join this trend,” Choi emphasized.

“KIC plans to promote ESG investment information exchanges among Koran institutional investors through ESG Day and expand cooperation with leading overseas institutions to develop it into an international event.”

KIC was established in 2005 to grow the sovereign wealth of the Republic of Korea and contribute to developing the domestic finance industry.

“In a short amount of time, we have established an overseas investment system that enables direct asset management and are growing as Korea’s representative fund,” according to the organization.

During times of both crises and calm, KIC has stayed committed to its principles of long-term, diversified investing and to performing better.

With $157.3 billion in assets under management as of the end of 2019, we stand today alongside the world’s top sovereign wealth funds.