Hwang Seong-yeop, head of Shinyoung Securities, was elected the seventh head of the association on the 18th.
In a runoff vote at the Korea Financial Investment Association Center in Yeouido, Seoul, that day, Hwang Seong-yeop of Shinyoung Securities won 57.36% of the vote. Lee Hyeon-seung, former head of KB Asset Management, recorded 41.81%.
No candidate won a majority in the first round, so Hwang, who placed first, and Lee, who placed second, faced off in a runoff. Meanwhile, Seo Yu-seok, the Korea Financial Investment Association chairman seeking a second term for the first time, took 18.27% in the first round to finish third.
Hwang said, "I feel a heavy sense of responsibility rather than the joy of being elected," and added, "With humility and a low profile, I will work through communication and listening so that the association can be reborn."
Hwang also said, "I want to build a capital market where large firms strengthen global competitiveness and small and midsize firms expand innovation participation, so that no sector feels left out and all can move forward in balance," adding, "My dream is to create a bigger fishbowl and build a healthy ecosystem, rather than having everyone fight and squabble in a small fishbowl."
While a candidate, Hwang pledged to shift the key partner for national strategic industries from bank-centered to capital market-centered, to redirect the flow of household assets concentrated in real estate toward the stock market and the pension market, and to strengthen self-regulation functions to reduce regulatory risk.
Before the vote that day, Hwang promised in a policy address: ▲ building an ecosystem where no sector is marginalized, with a fair order that allows all to thrive together ▲ establishing a standing system to discuss key topics in depth with financial authorities ▲ overhauling an easy access system to quickly identify and resolve sector-specific needs ▲ establishing a regulatory philosophy that boldly eases small rules while firmly managing major risks, centered on investor protection and restoring market trust.
Born in 1963, Hwang graduated from Seoul National University with a degree in business administration and earned a master's in finance from the University of Illinois. He has been a "Shinyoung man," having worked only at Shinyoung Securities since 1987 for nearly 40 years. He is considered to have extensive field experience, having worked across key areas including asset management corporate business, investment banking (IB), overall management, and risk management.
Hwang's term runs for three years from Jan. 1 next year to Dec. 31, 2028.
Meanwhile, at the extraordinary general meeting that day, CEOs or proxies of full member firms attended and took part in the election through electronic voting. The results combined 30% equally distributed voting rights allocated equally to each full member and 70% proportionally distributed voting rights based on this year's membership dues.