Yim Jong-yong, the nominee for deputy prime minister for economy, pledged Wednesday to salvage the sinking Korean economy.

“Assuming this position at a time of serious economic situations gives me a sense of grave responsibilities,” Yim said at a press conference at the Seoul government complex in Gwanghwamun on Wednesday. 

“It is not an exaggeration to say that our economy is in crisis. My top priority will be managing the economy’s risk factors and pull it out of the prolonged recession.”

Yim emphasized consistency of related policies for the myriad of economic issues ranging from runaway household debt and imbalances in the property market to corporate restructuring,

The nominee for the position of chief of the Korean economy is expected to keep the expansionary fiscal policy stance taken by his predecessors -- Choi Kyung-hwan and Yoo Il-ho -- who are both close aides to President Park.

“The economy has become more unstable as it has been trapped in a long-running recession,” Yim said. “The current expansionary fiscal policy needs to be maintained for the time being.”

As for a new plan for the property market slated for announcement Thursday, Yim said he would not tolerate any real estate speculation for the sake of growth.

“Property market situations widely vary from region to region,” he said. “More selective and customized measures for each region across the country need to be taken.”

Easing the loan-to-value and debt-to-income ratios in the summer of 2014 was a reasonable policy choice, he said, although the record high household debt of above 1,200 trillion won is attributed to the measure.

Yim, who served at both the financial policy and economic policy bureaus of the Ministry of Finance from 1999 to 2008, has broad experience in handling macroeconomic and financial policies. He also headed NH Nonghyup Financial Group from 2013 to 2015.

During the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s, Yim led the restructuring of financial institutions and became the youngest director of the banking system department of the ministry in 1999.

He has also served as presidential economic and financial secretary, helping to stabilize the Korean economy in the aftermath of the global financial crisis in 2009, while working alongside former President Lee Myung-bak. In 2010, he was promoted to first vice finance minister.

From 2011 to 2013, Yim served as minister for government policy coordination at the Prime Minister’s Office.

As the chairman of the Financial Services Commission for the past 1 1/2 years, Yim aggressively pushed for reforms in the financial sector. He has been a faithful supporter of the government’s creative economy initiative.

Among his achievements is the FSC’s initiation of the financial technology drive by easing regulations that had restricted online financial transactions and lowering barriers for IT firms to enter the financial market.

He has also been leading ongoing corporate restructuring activities by coordinating measures between the government and financial industry.

With Yim at its helm since June 2013, Nonghyup has become an industry leader in terms of deposits, loan issuances, fund subscriptions and retirement pensions.

Nonghyup acquired Woori Investment & Securities in June 2014, beating a bid by KB Financial Group. It made NH Investment & Securities the nation’s top securities firm at the time.

“The nominee is a well-known technocrat in the financial sector and has soft but strong leadership,” a manager at Nonghyup Financial Group told The Korea Herald. “Many NH employees felt pride when we had him as chairman.”

Meanwhile, Korea Financial Consumer Agency, a consumer advocacy group, expressed opposition to the nomination Wednesday.

“The nomination is part of an irresponsible reshuffle by the Park government which is plagued by the Choi Soon-sil (scandal),” said Cho Nam-hee, head of the agency. “Yim deserves to take responsibly for failed financial reforms and corporate restructuring.”

By Song Su-hyun (song@heraldcorp.com)