South Korea's President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday appointed Rhee Chang-yong, director of the Asia and Pacific department at the International Monetary Fund, to be the country's next central bank chief. However, the nomination sparked a new round of squabbling as President-elect Yoon Suk-office yeol's claimed that it had not been consulted on the appointment.
Rhee's nomination comes on the heels of what appears to have been a weeks-long power struggle between the outgoing Moon and the incoming Yoon administrations over the appointment of important personnel. Because of this, there had been concerns that the Bank of Korea would be without a leader for the first time in its history once the current CEO Lee Ju-yeol stepped down on March 31.
On Wednesday, a Cheong Wa Dae official, speaking about the condition of anonymity, said that Yoon had been contacted on Rhee's candidacy in order to overcome the difficulties around the possibility of a leadership vacuum in the Blue House.
Yoon's office, on the other hand, denied the allegations, claiming that the president-elect had not yet named a nominee for the job, putting a shadow on Rhee's candidacy.
This day saw tensions rise as Yoon's chief of staff, Chang Je-won, denied that any prior communication with the president-office elect's had taken place over Rhee's candidacy, implying that Yoon had been kept in the dark about the nomination.
In an interview with reporters, Chang stated that "there were no agreements or suggestions on our behalf."
It is reported in certain news sources that Cheong Wa Dae has offered the nomination as an olive branch, which I do not believe to be the case.
Immediately, Moon's office responded, informing Yoon's office that they would "disclose everything" if they continued to lie, and that they were taken aback by their response.
In response to Rhee's nomination, President Moon's senior secretary for public information, Park Soo-hyun, stated that Rhee was picked because of his expertise and competence in monetary and financial fields, as well as the confidence he had garnered from his colleagues and the public. Insiders in the financial sector believe Park's strong worldwide network will be useful in developing monetary policies that are linked with the global economy and will help stabilize inflation as well as the entire financial market.
To be appointed as Bank of Korea governor, Lee must first pass a confirmation hearing before the National Assembly, as stipulated under the country's Bank of Korea Act.
The 61-year-old candidate was appointed head of the IMF's Asia and Pacific department in 2013 after serving as top economist at the Asian Development Bank for two years.
Previously, he held positions such as vice chairman of the G-20 Preparation Committee, vice chairman of the Financial Services Commission, and economics professor at Seoul National University before being appointed chief economist of the Asian Development Bank.
Rhee graduated with honors from Seoul National University with a bachelor's degree in economics. Following his graduation from Harvard University with a Ph.D. in economics in 1989, he worked in the private sector as an economic advisor in a variety of capacities.
With neither side able to come to terms on a wide range of topics, including critical nominations, the tension between Moon and Yoon has been building steadily. These concerns include the pardoning of former President Lee Myung-bak, who is currently imprisoned, as well as the relocation of the presidential office to the major Defense Ministry building in the heart of Seoul.
A scheduled meeting between the two was postponed last week, breaking with convention, which stipulates that the departing president receives the newly elected president within ten days after the election. Yoon was elected to the position on March 9.
