Lee Dae-hee, former Deputy Minister for Planning and Coordination of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, has been appointed as the new CEO of Korea Venture Investment Corporation, the management agency for the Moat Fund. Once Lee takes office as CEO of Korea Venture Investment, it will mark the first time since the institution's establishment in 2005 that a bureaucrat has held the top position.
According to the venture investment industry on the 21st, Korea Venture Investment has recently designated Lee as the next CEO after undergoing the interview process of the executive recommendation committee. This means that Korea Venture Investment will conclude the leadership vacancy that has lasted about 1 year and 6 months since the resignation of former CEO Yoo Ung-hwan in October 2023.
Lee is expected to become the first CEO from a bureaucratic background at Korea Venture Investment. Until now, the leadership of Korea Venture Investment has been held by individuals from the capital market and industry sectors. It has been confirmed that Lee also stepped down from the position of Deputy Minister for Planning and Coordination of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups on the 16th to take a position at Korea Venture Investment.
Korea Venture Investment is an institution that primarily funds venture funds created by domestic venture capitalists (VCs). Every year, it receives a budget from various government ministries, including the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and Ministry of Science and ICT, and as of the end of last year, the committed amount reached 9.8617 trillion won.
Lee graduated with a degree in business administration from Seoul National University and a master's degree in business administration from the University of Birmingham in the UK. He entered public service through the 37th civil service examination and worked at the Ministry of Economy and Finance for 26 years before transferring to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups in 2022. At the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, he served as the head of the Office of Small Business Policy, head of the Office of Small and Medium Enterprise Policy, and Deputy Minister for Planning and Coordination.
Former Deputy Minister Lee Dae-hee is expected to officially take office in April, pending the government's personnel verification process, beginning his three-year term.
Korea Venture Investment has also recently appointed Kim Hyung-jin, a new full-time auditor who previously worked in the Presidential Security Office. The position of full-time auditor at Korea Venture Investment has been vacant since the beginning of 2024.