No Great Hold
South Korea has lost the vice president position and won only non-core director-level positions at the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) even after pouring more than 4 trillion won (US$3.58 billion).
The Ministry of Strategy and Finance announced on September 12 that Yoo Jae-hoon, the incumbent president of the state-run Korea Securities Depository, was named a controller at the AIIB. A controller establishes the AIIB’s financial plans and writes accounting and financial reports. Since it is the post in charge of the AIIB’s internal control, it cannot help Korean companies win foreign projects through the AIIB.
Earlier, the government was seeking to win a treasurer post among three director-level positions including accounting, finances and risk management which started recruiting in July. A treasurer raises infrastructure investment funds and decides where to invest them. However, the position is said to be taken by other country. Hong Ky-ttack, former chairman of Korea Development Bank (KDB), stepped down from his position as the bank's vice president and chief risk officer due to his alleged role in an accounting scandal at the embattled shipbuilder. The chief risk officer position, which now has been moved down from the vice president level to the director level, is expected to be taken by other countries.
Instead, Korea won the positions of international advisory panels and private sector investment advisory panels, but it will have little influence at the AIIB. Hyun Oh-seok, former South Korean finance minister and the deputy prime minister for economic affairs, will serve as a member of the AIIB International Advisory Panel for two years. The panel consists of 10 former senior government officials and international experts from member and non-member countries. It is designed to give advice on strategy and other key issues to the AIIB president. Since it is a part-time position, however, it is just a token position at the AIIB.
Lee Dong-ik, former vice president of the Korea Investment Corp., will also work for the AIIB as operations advisor for private sector developments. He will be in charge of joint investment with private capital from AIIB infrastructure projects. The government says that an advisor plays an important role in the AIIB because the organization is not organized yet. However, the position has much lighter weight than the vice president.