Korea Investment & Securities said Thursday that president Ryu Sang-ho will serve his ninth term, becoming the longest-serving CEO in the nation’s securities industry where the average CEO tenure is about three years.

The reappointment was agreed upon in a shareholders meeting earlier in the day. 


Ryu, 56, has led the nation’s fifth-largest brokerage firm by equity capital over the past eight years since he took office as the industry’s youngest CEO in 2007.

Under his leadership, the company has become a top-tier brokerage with specialty in wealth management and investment banking areas.

In 2011-2013, the company topped net profit among the nation’s top 10 securities firms. In recent years, the company’s net profit continued to increase to 226.2 billion won ($193.3 million) in 2014 and 284.8 billion won in 2015.

In 2014 when the whole industry carried out a large-scale restructuring, the company didn’t lay off workers and promoted high-performing employees.

By Park Han-na (hnpark@heraldcorp.com)