BIS executive committee member tapped as Bank of Korea governor

President Lee Jae Myung tapped Shin Hyun-song, an executive committee member of the Bank for International Settlements, as the new governor of the Bank of Korea, Cheong Wa Dae announced Sunday.

The 66-year-old, who serves as economic adviser and head of the monetary and economic department at the BIS, headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, will take the place of the incumbent governor Rhee Chang-yong, whose four-year term is set to end in April.

Lee Kyu-youn, senior presidential secretary for public relations and communication, described Shin as an expert in international finance and macroeconomics, capable of "achieving the monetary policy goals of curbing inflation and boosting the national economy at the same time, at a time of uncertainties in the Middle East."

Shin will lead South Korea's central bank and helm the country's monetary policy.

The presidential nomination of Shin will be finalized after the parliament holds a confirmation hearing. The approval does not require a parliamentary vote.

Before joining BIS in 2014, he was a senior adviser to former President Lee Myung-bak on the international economy. Shin was also a member of the Financial Advisory Roundtable at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and a professor of economics at Princeton University.

The appointment follows BIS' announcement on Monday that Shin would be retiring from the BIS and Helene Rey, professor of economics at London Business School, will fill in for Shin after his departure, which was previously set for August.