Kwon Min-su, newly appointed Deputy Governor of the Bank of Korea. Photo courtesy of the Bank of Korea.
President Lee Jae-myung on the 20th appointed Kwon Min-soo, previously a deputy governor-level official, as the new deputy governor of the Bank of Korea (BOK). Kwon will serve a three-year term running from August 21, 2026, to August 20, 2029. The BOK deputy governor is appointed by the president on the governor’s recommendation and serves as an ex-officio member of the Monetary Policy Board.
Kwon graduated from Whimoon High School and Yonsei University with a degree in business administration before joining the central bank in 1995. Kwon built expertise in foreign exchange and international finance while working in units including the Reserve Management Group and the International Department, and earned an MBA from the Yale School of Management in the United States. After serving as head of the Reserve Management Group, Kwon was promoted to a deputy governor-level post in May 2024 and oversaw international finance and cooperation.
Kwon played a central role in efforts to support the external opening of Korea’s financial markets, including the modernization of the foreign exchange market and the country’s inclusion in the World Government Bond Index (WGBI). During the overhaul of the foreign exchange market structure that took effect in July last year, Kwon helped lay the groundwork for internationalizing the won by pushing to extend trading hours and expand the participation of foreign financial institutions, and also supported efforts to improve access to the domestic bond market ahead of the WGBI inclusion.
As deputy governor, Kwon is expected to assist the governor mainly on key issues related to the foreign exchange market and international finance, drawing on that accumulated expertise and networks with domestic and overseas financial institutions and international organizations.