ING Barings strengthens Korean presence

As part of an overall upgrade of ING Barings' sales trading capability in Seoul, the company has appointed Stephen Cho as head of sales trading for Korea.

In his new position, Cho will focus on broadening ING Barings' client reach and providing product coverage in the futures, options and derivatives markets. He will also be responsible for servicing the company's existing institutional and hedge fund clients.

Prior to joining ING Barings, Cho was with Credit Suisse First Boston, where he provided equity market coverage to institutional clients, recommended trade ideas and strategy in the cash and futures market and facilitated order flow. He has over nine years trading experience in Korea and the US.

ING Barings' has also appointed Sang Kim as senior salesman to be based in Korea. Kim joins Barings from Salomon Smith Barney in New York where he was responsible for establishing the firm's Korean equity sales franchise in the US.

Commenting on the appointments, Herman Chung, head of equity markets for ING Barings in Korea says: "We are extremely pleased to have successfully recruited such high calibre professionals and are confident that the two key hires will substantially enhance our client reach."