BIS economist Shin Hyun-song tapped as next BOK governor
Shin Hyun-song / Courtesy of Cheong Wa Dae
President Lee Jae Myung on Sunday tapped Shin Hyun-song, currently economic adviser and head of the Monetary and Economic Department at the Bank for International Settlements, as the nominee for the next Bank of Korea (BOK) governor.
The nomination was announced at a briefing by Lee Kyu-yeon, presidential secretary for public affairs and communications.
“Shin has built his career across both academia and leading global institutions such as Princeton University, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York,” Lee said. “He is a leading authority on global finance and macroeconomics who combines strong academic credentials with hands-on policy expertise.”
Lee described Shin as "the right person" to pursue both price stability and economic growth amid heightened global uncertainty stemming from the Middle East crisis.
Addressing concerns about Shin’s relatively limited domestic profile, the presidential communications chief stressed that he has remained closely involved in domestic monetary policy discussions through seminars and lectures.
"As seen in the ongoing Middle East crisis, global and local economic challenges are increasingly interconnected. His international expertise is all the more relevant," Lee said.
Born in Daegu in 1959, Shin studied philosophy, politics and economics at the University of Oxford, where he also earned his master’s and doctoral degrees in economics.
He served as a resident scholar at the IMF in 2004 and joined Princeton University in 2006, where he is a professor of economics. He has also served as an advisory member at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York since 2007.
In Korea, Shin previously served as senior secretary for international economic affairs under the 2008-13 Lee Myung-bak administration.
Shin will undergo a parliamentary confirmation hearing, after which the president will formally appoint him upon the National Assembly’s adoption of a confirmation report. He will succeed incumbent BOK Gov. Rhee Chang-yong.