SEOUL, April 20 (AJP) — South Korea’s incoming central bank chief Shin Hyun-song is set to begin his term Tuesday under a cloud of unresolved personal controversies, after the National Assembly approved his confirmation report Monday following two earlier rejections.
Shin marks the first nominee for the Bank of Korea governorship to fail to secure initial approval from the parliamentary Strategy and Finance Committee since confirmation hearings became mandatory in 2014.
The former economist at the Bank for International Settlements faced intense scrutiny during his April 15 hearing over a range of personal matters, including family wealth, overseas asset holdings and alleged irregularities involving his children.
Lawmakers raised concerns about his family’s substantial foreign-currency assets, an allegedly irregular transfer to Korea University, and questions surrounding his daughter’s failure to report her loss of Korean nationality, along with allegations of maintaining a so-called “paper residence.”
“Approximately 93 percent of the nominee’s 4.6 billion won ($3.1 million) in financial assets are held in foreign currencies,” Rep. Park Dae-chul of the opposition People Power Party said, linking the issue to broader pressure on the Korean won from rising overseas investment.
Rep. Chun Ha-ram of the Reform Party also pressed Shin over allegations that his daughter applied for residency using a canceled resident registration number after renouncing her Korean nationality.
The committee had twice rejected Shin’s confirmation report on April 15 and April 17, citing delays in the submission of supporting documents. While the president can appoint a central bank governor without parliamentary consent, securing the committee’s endorsement is widely seen as critical to establishing political legitimacy at the outset of the term.
By contrast, former Governor Lee Ju-yeol — the first to undergo the confirmation process — faced little resistance, with his reappointment smoothly approved in 2018. Shin’s immediate predecessor, Rhee Chang-yong, encountered some criticism over what was described as a “midnight appointment” and his long tenure abroad, but his confirmation proceeded without major controversy.
President Lee Jae Myung is expected to electronically sign off Shin’s appointment during his state visit to India during the day to avoid a leadership vacuum at the central bank, as Rhee’s term ends Monday.
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