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The Korea Herald
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THE INVESTOR
March 29, 2024

Finance

'Angel of Death' steps down in 15 days

  • PUBLISHED :April 16, 2018 - 23:22
  • UPDATED :April 17, 2018 - 17:14
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[THE INVESTOR] On April 16 -- just 15 days since he took office -- Financial Supervisory Service Gov. Kim Ki-sik stepped down on, and President Moon Jae-in accepted his resignation.

“The president accepts the resignation,” said Yoon Young-chan, the senior presidential secretary for public relations, adding that the government accepts the National Election Commission’s decision.

Kim, aka the Angel of Death who was famous for his anti-conglomerate views, tendered his resignation immediately after the commission found him guilty of violating related laws by indirectly funding a think tank with political donations and going on business trips funded by institutions he was in charge of overseeing as legislator.

 

Outgoing FSS Gov. Kim Ki-sik



Kim has become the shortest-lived FSS governor to date. His resignation also marks the second in a month for the position. His predecessor stepped down due to his alleged involvement in a bank hiring scam. 
 
On April 13, President Lee had issued a statement saying Kim would have to resign if any one of his past conducts was found to be illegal. He added that he would sack the governor if the election commission so much found Kim’s conducts to be immoral by any measure.

The FSS chief had a tough road ahead of him from the beginning. Some critics say the opposition party was out to weed out Kim, for they feared that between him and the Fair Trade Commission Chairman Kim Sang-jo, the pair would wipe out Korean conglomerates altogether. 

So far, Samsung and Hyundai Motor has introduced measures for improving their corporate governance structures.

Meanwhile, the FSS head was not without supporters, for a petition calling for the government not to fire Kim has gathered more than 100,000 signatures in less than a week. Cheong Wa Dae must respond to any petition that collects more than 200,000 signatures in a month.

By Park Ga-young (gypark@heraldcorp.com)

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