Former Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Kim Sang-gon will take the top post of the Korea Teachers’ Credit Union, the institution said Wednesday.

Effective Thursday, Kim will serve as chairman of the KTCU, the state-sponsored credit union dedicated to Korean teachers’ financial welfare and benefits. Kim was selected as the final candidate to head the KTCU on Friday and subsequently gained the approval of Education Minister Yoo Eun-hae.

Kim will serve his three-year term until November 2023. The top position has remained empty since predecessor Cha Sung-Soo stepped down in January to run in 2020 general election.

Born in 1949, Kim studied business administration at Seoul National University and earned a doctorate. Before serving as the Moon Jae-in administration’s first education minister and doubling as deputy prime minister from 2017 to 2018, Kim served as Gyeonggi Province education superintendent from 2009 to 2014.

The KTCU is a major institutional investor in Korea. It was overseeing 41.4 trillion won ($37.2 billion) in assets as of end-June. Its portfolio ranged from stocks, bonds, short-term capital and alternative assets to membership lending.

By Son Ji-hyoung (consnow@heraldcorp.com)