The National Assembly's special economic hearing by the special committee for a parliamentary probe into the International Monetary Fund (IMF) currency crisis held on Jan. 25, 1999. Former President Kim Young-sam, former Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Kang Kyung-sik, former Bank of Korea (BOK) Governor Lee Kyung-sik, and other top-level officials at the time of the 1997 IMF foreign exchange crisis, as well as figures including Kang Man-soo (hereinafter title at the time of the foreign exchange crisis·Vice Minister of the Ministry of Finance and Economy), Yoon Jeung-hyun (Director General of Financial Policy at the Ministry of Finance and Economy), Kim Choong-soo (minister at the OECD Representative Office), and Kim Seok-dong (head of the Foreign Exchange Funds Division at the Ministry of Finance and Economy), who later rose to become Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, BOK governors, and Financial Services Commission chairpersons, were summoned as witnesses.
At a special address at the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) CEO (chief executive officer) Summit in Gyeongju on Oct. 29, Industry and Trade Minister Kim Jung-kwan, who received praise from U.S. President Donald Trump as a "tough negotiator," was the only Deputy Director included among the 35 witnesses and reference persons. Although he was only a sixth-year Deputy Director, Minister Kim took the witness stand at the hearing because he was in charge of exchange-rate policy at the Foreign Exchange Funds Division of the Ministry of Finance and Economy during the foreign exchange crisis. He testified about policy responses during the period when the won-dollar rate, which was in the 840-won range at the beginning of 1997, surged to 1,928 won on Dec. 23, just before the IMF bailout application.
Minister Kim rarely talks about his days as a Deputy Director in charge of the exchange rate during the IMF foreign exchange crisis. It is a painful memory like a "trauma." But people who know him well say that his experience fighting on the front lines of the IMF foreign exchange crisis laid the foundation for his sense of responsibility as a public official and his characteristic drive. The "negotiating attitude" that Trump lavished praise on is said to be grit forged through a tough public service career.
A wealth of frontline experience responding to massive economic crises During the IMF foreign exchange crisis, Minister Kim handled exchange rates, and in Feb. 2009, at the height of the Lehman Brothers–triggered global financial crisis, he was appointed head of the Government Bonds Division at the MOEF, which oversees government funding. He was given a special mission by Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun, who was brought in as a "relief pitcher for crisis response." He was to find a clever way to raise funds for the supplementary budget of 28 trillion won—the largest ever—without asking the BOK to purchase Government Bonds. Because it would be difficult for the market to absorb the entire supplementary budget amount—nearly half of the annual Government Bonds issuance—from the market alone, it was necessary to dispel market concerns that "in the end, the government will rely on the BOK's note-issuing power."
As head of the Government Bonds Division, Minister Kim worked closely with bond market participants to push for reforms to the bidding system so that winning yields on Government Bonds would be set at market-rate levels. By making issuance rates realistic and encouraging financial companies to participate in bidding, the bid-to-cover ratio for Government Bonds surpassed 390% in March 2010, up from around 100% before the reform. Unlike in countries such as Greece and Italy, where bid-to-cover ratios for Government Bonds fell below 100% and the situation spread into a Southern European fiscal crisis, Korea's high bid-to-cover ratio was credited as grounds for a rapid economic recovery after the crisis.
After completing a secondment to the BOK in the first-ever Director General–level personnel exchange in MOEF history and returning, Minister Kim moved in 2018 to Doosan DLI (now Doosan Management Research Institute), which handles strategy development for Doosan Group, entering the private sector. It was driven by a desire to apply economic policy-making experience to corporate management activities. In the private sector as well, he was on the front lines of overcoming an economic crisis. Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction (now Doosan Enerbility), the group's key unit, came under Korea Development Bank creditor management due to the fallout from financial tightening triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and a business structure centered on coal-fired power generation. As head of Doosan Management Research Institute, Minister Kim helped with restructuring to shift Doosan Heavy's business portfolio toward eco-friendly energy solutions and improve financial soundness. He also took part in the decision—well received by the market—to sell Doosan Infracore (now HD Hyundai Infracore), which had steady operating profits but was seen as vulnerable due to its high exposure to China. After moving in March 2022 to head marketing at Doosan Enerbility, he played an active role in Team Korea, led by Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP), in the bid for the Dukovany nuclear power plant project in the Czech Republic.
MAGA shipbuilding plan proposed, with tenacious face-to-face talks led It is seen that Minister Kim's return to public service, after being promoted to president in January, reflects President Lee Jae-myung's personnel philosophy of "entrusting economic policy to former public officials who have achieved results in the private sector." In fact, President Lee is said to have sounded out the intention to return to public service among those from MOEF and other economic ministries who had served as chief executive officers (CEOs) in private corporations.
Minister Kim, who took office on July 21, boarded a plane to the United States on July 23 with Trade Negotiations Minister Yeo Han-koo. As the United States had announced it would impose a "25% reciprocal tariff" starting Aug. 1 (local time hereinafter), this was for urgent trade negotiations with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. After two days of talks, including personally visiting Secretary Lutnick's residence, Minister Kim presented a vision to strengthen Korea-U.S. manufacturing cooperation, including the "MASGA (Make American Shipbuilding Great Again)" plan.
When Secretary Lutnick accompanied President Trump on a trip to Scotland, Minister Kim postponed his return and led the negotiation team back onto a plane to Europe. His determination that "it is important to keep face-to-face negotiations going no matter what" played a major role. He said, "The experience I built doing overseas marketing in corporations helped a lot."
Shuttling between the United Kingdom and the United States and continuing talks with Secretary Lutnick, on July 30 he reached an oral agreement on creating a $350 billion U.S.-bound investment fund and on a "15% cap on tariffs for automobiles and reciprocal tariffs." Even when negotiations again reached an impasse over the cash investment ratio and the payment period for the fund, Minister Kim persuaded the U.S. side by emphasizing foreign exchange market stability and commercial rationality. On Oct. 22, he departed for the United States with Presidential Chief of Staff for Policy Kim Yong-beom and launched a final push ahead of the Korea-U.S. summit arranged on the sidelines of the APEC leaders' meeting. In the end, immediately after the summit between President Trump and President Lee Jae-myung held in Gyeongju on Oct. 29, a final agreement was reached to split the $200 billion cash investment over 10 years (annual cap of $20 billion). Inside and outside the Industry and Trade Ministry, people are saying, "The 103 days since taking office were 103 days of negotiations."
Although the fierce round of negotiations has been wrapped up, Minister Kim is putting more weight on follow-up procedures. At a Cabinet meeting on Nov. 4, he said, "In the case of auto tariffs, we will consult so that it takes effect retroactively on the first day of the month in which the (U.S.-bound investment fund law) bill is submitted." If this process proceeds as scheduled, the U.S. tariff cut on Korean automobiles (25%→15%) will be applied retroactively to Nov. 1. Minister Kim said, "If the investment payments are not carried out, the United States can raise tariffs," adding, "We started negotiating on a tilted playing field and only managed to straighten the tilt." He continued, "Many people tell me I worked hard, but I don't feel relieved; there is a bitter aftertaste." Plus Point Tough Trump who forged tough Kim Jung-kwan Minister Kim, who received praise as "tough" from President Trump, is also known for extensive experience working with "tough bosses" even within MOEF, which is reputed to be staffed only by elites. When handling the exchange rate in response to the IMF foreign exchange crisis, he worked under Kim Seok-dong, head of the Foreign Exchange Funds Division (former Financial Services Commission chairperson). Kim, a former chairperson often called the "perennial task force leader" for frequently taking on hands-on responsibility for major economic policy initiatives such as the real-name financial transaction system, is said to have continued to serve as a mentor to Minister Kim thereafter.
Minister Kim served as an aide to Vice Minister Jeong Deok-gu of the Ministry of Finance and Economy during his tenure as Vice Minister, with Jeong later becoming Industry and Trade Minister and known as the strictest boss in MOEF's history. Jeong, famous for being demanding with juniors, is said to have expressed satisfaction with Kim's work. As a Director General, he served as chief policy aide to former Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Kim Dong-yeon, known as a workaholic.
In 2015, under a newly established Director General–level personnel exchange, he was seconded to the Bank of Korea and held key posts such as head of the Capital Markets Department at the Financial Markets Department and head of the International Economics Department at the Research Department. While serving as head of the Capital Markets Department, he received a special governor's citation for establishing a "Market Intelligence" system that turned on-the-ground information obtained by BOK staff through direct contact with market participants into data, and showed passion by publishing an essay series called "Market View" that offered creative perspectives on weekly financial issues with junior researchers.