The Bank of Korea conducted its regular personnel appointments for the first half of this year. Joo Jae-hyun was appointed as the new director of the foreign currency management department, and Lee Ah-rang, a team leader in the macroanalysis division, was unexpectedly promoted as a policy advisor.
On the 24th, the Bank of Korea appointed a total of 20 department heads in the '2024 first half regular personnel appointments.' A total of 120 promotions were made, with 10 individuals promoted to level 1, 20 to level 2, 36 to level 3, and 42 to level 4.
Joo Jae-hyun, appointed as the director of foreign currency management, was hired as an experienced professional. He was recognized for his exceptional expertise in the foreign currency management field, which led to his appointment as director.
For the newly established directors of the Economic Statistics Division 1 and Economic Statistics Division 2, Shin Seung-cheol, a representative statistician within the organization, and Lee Dong-won (deployed from the defense university) were respectively appointed. The Economic Statistics Division 1 is responsible for financial statistics, pricing, corporate statistics, and economic sentiment index compilation, while the Economic Statistics Division 2 deals with Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and input-output statistics.
Min Jun-kyu (from Seoul National University) was appointed as the Director General of Financial Operations, while Yoon Seong-kwan (former head of the Digital Currency Research Division) was appointed as the head of the Digital Currency Research Office. Director General Min is noted as a leading legal expert within the organization, and Director Yoon has been leading the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) operations. Kwon Tae-yong, head of the Daegu-Gyeongbuk headquarters, will oversee external affairs as the Director of Planning and Cooperation.
Lee Ah-rang, the former team leader of macroanalysis, has been appointed as a policy advisor. This advisor has been recognized for demonstrating exceptional capabilities in research while working at the Research Division, Economic Research Institute, and International Division. It is anticipated that they will effectively support the governor's policy implementation in line with rapidly changing domestic and international conditions.
The number of women promoted (levels 1-4) is 35, notably with women holding 16 positions (44.4%) at the 3rd level, where head of teams can be appointed, out of a total of 36 individuals promoted to level 3. The Bank of Korea noted that "it expects that the proportion of female managers at the team leader level among newly appointed will reach half within three years."