A former Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker who served as a Blue House administrative officer has emerged as a candidate for the next head of the Credit Information Association. With Lee Chan-jin as Financial Supervisory Service governor, Kim Sung-sik as Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation (KDIC) president, and Park Sang-jin as Korea Development Bank chairman—figures tied to President Lee Jae-myung's legal circle—voices in the financial sector say the shadow of a Democratic Party parachute is now looming over the Credit Information Association as well.
According to the industry on the 12th, the Credit Information Association has formed a Chairperson Candidate Recommendation Committee and is vetting candidates for the next chair, including Yoo Kwang-yeol, Yoon Young-duk, Lee Byung-chul, and Lee Ho-hyung (in alphabetical order). The Credit Information Association is a group that represents the interests of the credit information industry, and financial companies engaged in MyData (personal credit information management business), such as KB Kookmin Bank, BC Card, and Hana Card, are also members. The annual salary for the head of the Credit Information Association is known to be around 200 million won.
Candidate Yoon Young-duk served as an administrative officer in the Blue House Senior Secretary's Office for Civil Affairs under the Moon Jae-in administration and was a 21st National Assembly lawmaker from Gwangju. A former activist who served as student body president at Chosun University, Yoon has no work experience related to finance or credit information beyond service on the National Policy Committee. Before entering politics, Yoon primarily conducted research related to politics and diplomacy.
Initially, the race for the Credit Information Association head was expected to be a three-way contest among Yoo Kwang-yeol, Lee Byung-chul, and Lee Ho-hyung, but former lawmaker Yoon registered as a candidate during the application period.
Candidate Yoo Kwang-yeol passed the 29th civil service exam and served as a commissioner of the Financial Services Commission's Securities and Futures Commission, senior deputy governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, and CEO of Seoul Guarantee Insurance Company. Candidate Lee Ho-hyung passed the 34th civil service exam and served as head of the Fair Market Division and head of the Financial Consumer Protection Planning Team at the Financial Services Commission (FSC), and as a managing director at the Korea Federation of Banks. Both candidates are former government officials with experience at the financial authorities. Candidate Lee Byung-chul served as president of Shinhan Credit Information.
In the industry, there is a view that the government could exert influence because many members of the recommendation committee are former officials. It is reported that two of the five committee members are former government officials. Former chair Na Seong-rin was also a two-term lawmaker from the Saenuri Party (predecessor of the People Power Party).