Lehman poaches Woori CFO

Lehman Brothers has pulled out the big punches in Korea, announcing the appointment of the high profile Euoo Sung Min to drive its efforts in the country. From 6 June, Min takes on the mantle of Lehman's country head and chief executive officer for Korea.

The move is timely for Lehman, which has been forging ahead with a national and regional recruitment drive for its investment banking division. On a country level, the international firm has recently been strengthened by the arrival of Zhizhong Yang to lead its China investment banking division and Masaru Shibata to drive its Japan M&A business.

In Korea, Min's arrival follows the news earlier this year that Lehman Brother had become the first foreign investment bank to receive a comprehensive Korean derivatives licence, granting it the right to trade fixed-income and equity OTC derivatives for domestic Korean institutions.

Min moves to the US firm from Woori Financial Holdings, where Lehman is a minority shareholder and Min was most recently vice chairman and chief financial officer. He also brings experience from Salomon Smith Barney KEB Securities to the new role, where he was president and CEO.

Min's CV also includes branch manager and head of investment banking of Morgan Stanley's Seoul Branch and former roles at Citibank and Lehman Brothers.

Upon rejoining Lehman Brothers, Min reports to Kunho Cho, its head of investment banking for Asia-Pacific.

"ES was one of the key architects of Korea's banking sector restructuring," says Cho. "He will be instrumental in bringing Lehman Brothers' presence in Korea to the next level."

Min replaces former country head Lee Jae-Woo, who recently left the firm to join private equity fund Bogo.