[Relocation of Financial Public Institutions]③Will Lee Chanjin and Park Sangjin, Longtime Associates of President Lee, Prevent the Move of the FSS and KDB?

Lee Chanjin, FSS Governor, Was Judicial Training Classmate of President Lee
Park Sangjin, KDB President, Was Law School Classmate
Past Opposition to Relocation in Spotlight... Can They Persuade for Staying in Seoul?

"It's laughable for a site supervisor to leave the construction site." (Lee Chanjin, Governor of the Financial Supervisory Service)

"The Korea Development Bank must play its role in Seoul, the nation's financial hub." (Park Sangjin, Chairman of the Korea Development Bank)

Lee Chanjin, Governor of the Financial Supervisory Service (left), and Park Sangjin, Chairman of the Korea Development Bank.

With the debate over the second phase of relocating public institutions to regions reigniting, past remarks from Lee Chanjin, Governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, and Park Sangjin, Chairman of the Korea Development Bank, both of whom previously drew a clear line against relocation, are receiving renewed attention. Given that both leaders have longstanding personal connections with President Lee Jae-myung, their potential influence during the ongoing relocation discussions is becoming a focal point of interest.

According to financial authorities on August 18, Governor Lee has reportedly not made any new statements or taken further action internally regarding the possible relocation of the Financial Supervisory Service to a regional area.

An official with the Financial Supervisory Service said, "Governor Lee's basic position—that the financial regulatory authority must remain on site in Seoul—remains unchanged," but added, "Since there has been no official announcement of a relocation plan, we have not taken any specific countermeasures at this point."

The possibility of the Financial Supervisory Service relocating to Sejong, along with the Financial Services Commission, has been raised. Internally, some believe that this time it may be difficult to avoid relocation. However, the fact that Governor Lee holds considerable influence within the current administration is seen as a variable.

Governor Lee is a classmate of President Lee from the Judicial Research and Training Institute. It is widely viewed among financial authorities, both inside and outside the organization, that Lee played a crucial role in scrapping last year's government and ruling party proposal to overhaul the financial regulatory framework, which included breaking up the Financial Services Commission, separating the Financial Supervisory Service, and establishing the Financial Consumer Protection Agency.

Similarly, Chairman Park, a classmate of President Lee from Chung-Ang University's College of Law, has also made his position clear that the Korea Development Bank should stay in Seoul. Shortly after taking office last year, he stated regarding the previous administration's push to relocate the KDB headquarters to Busan, "I will do my utmost to ensure that the Korea Development Bank is removed from the list of institutions designated for relocation by the government."

Chairman Park is known to have been close to President Lee during their university days, to the extent that they studied together in the preparation class for the civil service exam and even cooked meals together.

For these reasons, there is a persistent expectation inside both the Financial Supervisory Service and the Korea Development Bank that the two leaders may be able to persuade the government of the necessity for their institutions to remain in Seoul.

The government is reportedly expected to finalize and announce as early as next week the list of public institutions subject to the second wave of regional relocations. While the relocation of the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service to Sejong appears likely, there is said to be some room for negotiation regarding the Korea Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of Korea, given the substantial size of their headquarters in Seoul.

However, some observers note that circumstances are different this time. The second phase of relocating public institutions is closely tied to the current administration's vision for balanced regional development, led by its 'Five Major Economic Zones and Three Special Districts' initiative. Additionally, local governments affiliated with the ruling party, including the city of Busan, are actively campaigning to attract public institutions.

A financial industry official commented, "Since relocating public institutions is a matter aligned with the national policy direction of balanced regional development, there are limits to how much individual leaders of these institutions can influence the broader trend. For Seoul retention to be considered, there must be sufficiently compelling justification and rationale within the government's policy framework to warrant an exception."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.