President Lee Jae-myung nominates Shin Hyun-song, former International Monetary Fund economic advisor, as Governor of the Bank of Korea

President Lee Jae-myung nominated Shin Hyeon-sung, Director of the Monetary and Economic Department at the Bank for International Settlements, as the candidate for Governor of the Bank of Korea on the 22nd. Shin is a distinguished scholar with outstanding performance in the fields of macroeconomics and finance both domestically and internationally, notably having predicted the 2008 financial crisis during the 2006 annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund.

Born in Daegu in 1959, Shin Hyeon-sung studied political economy and philosophy at the University of Oxford in the UK, earning both a master’s and a doctorate in economics. He has taught at the London School of Economics and Political Science in the UK and served as a professor of economics at Princeton University in the US, accumulating extensive academic experience. He also served as a member of the Financial Advisory Committee of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and as a resident scholar at the International Monetary Fund, deeply involved in international financial policy affairs.

During the Lee Myung-bak administration in 2010, he served as the Chief International Economic Advisor to the Blue House, and in 2014, he was appointed as an economic advisor and head of the Investigation Bureau at the Bank for International Settlements, often called “the central bank of central banks.” This was the first time someone from outside the US and Europe was appointed to this position, attracting significant attention. It is reported that Shin has maintained close communication with major global policy decision-makers through extensive international networks.

Additionally, Shin’s expertise in financial stability and macroprudential policy has been recognized. His late father, Shin Je-gyu, a former leader of the Modern General Merchants Society with a background at the Bank of Korea, adds symbolic significance to this nomination. These experiences are expected to help improve Korea’s future monetary policy environment and strengthen its role in international economic cooperation.

Moving forward, the nomination of Shin Hyeon-sung as Governor of the Bank of Korea has drawn attention to whether he can actively respond to changes in the domestic and international economic environment while pursuing financial policy stability and innovation. Especially, his international experience and network are expected to play a key role in enhancing Korea’s global economic connectivity.