"Financial Services Commission Nominee Lee Wook-heon Earned 600 Million Won Over 3 Years Through Overlapping Employment" (Comprehensive)

Kang Min-guk Questions if Work was Performed Properly... FSC States Work was Diligently Executed

Financial Services Commission Nominee Lee Wook-heon Responding to Questions (Seoul=Yonhap News) Reporter Lee Dong-hae = Lee Wook-heon, nominee for Financial Services Commission Chairman, answers reporters' questions as he arrives for his first day at the personnel hearing preparation office set up at the Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 14th. 2025.8.14 eastsea@yna.co.kr

Lee Wook-heon, nominee for the first chairman of the Financial Services Commission under the Lee Jae-myung administration, earned over 600 million won through so-called "overlapping employment" at various organizations over approximately three years after retiring as Vice Minister of Economy and Finance, as revealed by Kang Min-guk, a lawmaker from the People Power Party, on the 27th.

The office of Rep. Kang, the whip for the People Power Party on the National Assembly's Special Committee on Public Administration and Security, made this claim based on an analysis of data submitted by the Financial Services Commission.

According to Rep. Kang's office, Nominee Lee worked at a total of six organizations from May 2022 to July of this year, earning 626.62 million won in labor income after retiring as Vice Minister of Economy and Finance.

From August 2022 to July 2024, Nominee Lee served as a visiting research fellow at the Korea Capital Market Institute, receiving 121.40 million won in salary. He also served as an outside director for E-Broadcasting from October 2022 to February of last year, receiving 49.72 million won in salary.

From March 2023 to August of this year, he earned 160.19 million won as an outside director for LF. From March of last year to February of this year, he earned 31.20 million won as a distinguished professor at Korea University's Future Growth Research Institute. From March of last year to August of this year, he earned 121.74 million won as an outside director for CJ Logistics.

From his retirement in 2022 until December of last year, he also generated income from consultations, lectures, and advisory fees, including 22.83 million won in other income and 117.99 million won in business income, totaling 140.82 million won.

Specifically, regarding E-Broadcasting, where Nominee Lee served as an outside director, Rep. Kang claims there are suspicions that Lee played a role in the company's listing process based on his academic ties with the company's CEO.

Rep. Kang pointed out, "It is a matter of common sense whether he could have performed his duties properly while simultaneously holding multiple outside director positions and engaging in freelance activities such as dozens of consultations and advisory roles over the approximately three years after his retirement to earn over 600 million won."

In response, the Financial Services Commission stated, "The nominee diligently performed the duties assigned to him in each position." They added, "While serving as an outside director at LF and other companies, he faithfully participated in board meetings and received compensation at a customary level. He also actively performed roles such as consultations at the Korea Capital Market Institute."

Furthermore, they stated, "Specifically, while working as an outside director for E-Broadcasting, there is absolutely no record of him being involved in individual practical matters such as attracting investment or listing, nor of exerting undue influence." They added, "We will explain the specific details comprehensively during the hearing."

The National Assembly's Special Committee on Public Administration and Security will hold Nominee Lee's personnel hearing on the 2nd of next month.

The witnesses for the hearing have been selected as Kim Chang-sung, chief lawyer at Kim & Chang; Oh Kyu-sik, Vice Chairman and CEO of LF; and Kim Se-wan, President of the Korea Capital Market Institute.