KorAm Picks Manager Of Citibank as Its Chief

Ha Yung-ku, the country business manager at Citibank Seoul, is expected to be named president of KorAm Bank. "The Carlyle Group, which is the bank's largest shareholder, sealed a contract with Mr. Ha last week," said a KorAm official.

Mr. Ha started his career with Citibank Korea in 1981. In 1998, he became the first Korean to head the bank's retail financing division.

His appointment would be the third case in which an executive from a foreign financial institution has become the head of a Korean commercial bank. Kang Chung-won, the former Seoul branch general manger of Deutsche Bank, is now president of Seoul Bank. Min Euoo-sung, the formal president of Salomon Smith Barney Securities, was elected chief financial officer of the government-led Woori Financial Holdings Co. on March 12.

KorAm Bank also plans to appoint Shin Dong-hyuck, the incumbent president, as chairman of its board of directors.

by Choi Hyeon-chul