KDB
At a dinner with Korea Development Bank (KDB) staff last month, CEO Min Euoo-sung sang his favorite song, “Leopard in Mt. Kilimanjaro”, a reflection of his desire to be a hunter in the volatile financial world.
And after taking over the staid, state-run bank this summer, he began stalking his previous employer — the beleaguered U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers (LEH.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).
When the 54-year old was appointed in June, he became the bank’s first chief executive to come from outside the ranks of government.
KDB, dubbed by the local media as “God’s workplace” for its high salaries and low workload, has long been seen as a secure place to work.
Min’s arrival was not immediately welcomed at the bank, which has played a critical role in South Korea’s dramatic economic rise since it was founded in 1954 as a policy bank, a year after the end of the Korean War payday loan.
The bank’s union members protested, preventing Min from going to work for three days because they argued his last job running Lehman’s South Korean operations did not qualify him to run the far bigger KDB.
It was no coincidence that his rise came under new President Lee Myung-bak, who wants to reshape the financial sector to help shift to a more service-driven economy now that a once-dominant manufacturing sector faces tough competition from China.
President Lee wants to make South Korea’s underdeveloped and rule-bound banks as powerful and international as the country’s technology companies, shipbuilders and steelmakers.
Filed under: news by Fred