Jin Wants Out of Banking Ownership

HONOLULU, HAWAII － "The sooner the better," Deputy Prime Minister Jin Nyum said Friday about the sale of government holdings in banks Seoul has bailed out. "That means the sales can come earlier than June 2002, our original plan," he said.

Mr. Jin, also the Minister of Finance and Economy, said the government plans to finalize the sale of Seoul Bank before the end of June and Korea Life Insurance Co. by October at the latest.

Mr. Jin spoke to reporters in Hawaii, where he is attending the annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank's board of governors.

The sale of the government's stakes in Kookmin Bank, which has signed a final merger agreement with H&CB, will be reviewed after the bank is listed on the New York Stock Exchange in October, Mr. Jin said. The sale may be in the form of depository receipts, through a stock exchange or, he said, the government may issue securities backed by the shares with terms allowing the purchaser to acquire the shares at some later date.

Mr. Jin appeared to soften the implications of the recent series of government statements on corporate reform. The business sector's "reasonable requests" will be considered, he said. "But we speak from experience that loosening restrictions on the top 30 business groups will likely result in uncontrolled expansion of their business activities," he said. Seoul wants them to concentrate on core businesses.

by Song Sang-hoon