Jejudo is set to select a new mayor for Jeju City in the coming weeks, with whoever lands the position expected to tackle a slew of high-stakes issues that will reshape the role of the fast-developing island.

With the screening process underway, Kim Hyoung-min, former deputy CEO of Korea Exchange Bank, is reportedly seeking to become mayor of Jeju City, political sources said Thursday.

The appointment of a new Jeju City mayor comes at a time when the island is grappling with a growing list of challenges at various levels: an influx of Chinese capital; initiatives to step up English education; the licensing of foreign casinos and for-profit hospitals; and the hosting of multinational headquarters. 

Kim is said to be competing with other contenders with regional ties to the island, and it remains unclear how the political circles of Jejudo Island, as well as its citizens, would view a mayor candidate with a background in the central government and the financial sector.

Kim, who began his career as a reporter, was appointed a personal secretary of late President Kim Dae-jung in 2000. At Cheong Wa Dae, Kim handled foreign press relations and was deemed one of the late president’s closest secretaries.

He became the deputy CEO of KEB in 2003, the same year the bank was hit hard by a financial crisis. During his five-year tenure at the bank, Kim was credited with leading the campaign to abolish age and academic background limitations for new recruits.

Since then, a host of financial and state-run companies have adopted the same polices in favor of jobseekers’ actual performances and talents.

Kim is known to have already joined the screening process for Jeju City mayoral candidates. Under the current rules, those seeking the office are required to first apply to the Jeju Provincial Government before being accepted as possible candidates.

A small number of candidates will be screened out after the initial stage, in which members of the city council hold a personnel committee meeting and scrutinize contenders. A final candidate, selected by Jeju Governor Won Hee-ryong, then goes through a confirmation hearing. The schedule for the confirmation hearing is yet to be decided.

Kim served as a vice president at the British America Tobacco Korea from 2010 until May this year, after working as an adviser at leading law firm Kim & Chang from 2008 to 2010.

By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)