From the Front Lines at Seoul Bank: Restructuring and Reprivatization

Abstract

This chapter is a personal account of a banker who was given the rare opportunity to apply his knowledge of western banking and management practices to a distressed Korean commercial bank. Before joining Seoul Bank, I had worked at major international banks for two decades, mostly in Seoul—five years at Citibank, 15 years at Bankers Trust Company, and one year at Deutsche Bank after its acquisition of Bankers Trust in June 1999. Early in the 1997–98 financial crisis, the Korean government recapitalized Seoul Bank, effectively nationalizing it. Following several unsuccessful attempts to sell or transfer management responsibilities for Seoul Bank, the government appointed me Chief Executive Officer (CEO) on May 24, 2000. I became the first professional banker from a non-Korean bank to assume leadership of a Korean bank. My mission was to fix the bank and prepare it for reprivatization.

I am indebted to David T. Coe, Paul Gruenwald, and Peter Hayward of the IMF; to Dong-Won Kim of Maeil Business Newspaper for encouragement and useful comments; and to Maryse Dubé for assistance. I am also thankful to the Asia and Pacific Department and the Monetary and Financial Policy Department for inviting me to visit the IMF in early 2003 to write this paper.