Korean Job Discussion Forums

[mack4289]

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2879060

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2879060

"Veteran American economist William A. Ryback, 63, will become the first foreigner to serve in a regulatory capacity in Korea when he joins the Financial Supervisory Service next month as an advisor.

.... �It is the first time that we have recruited a foreigner and we are wondering how much information about local financial markets we are going to reveal to a foreigner,� said a senior official at the Financial Supervisory Commission, which oversees the Financial Supervisory Service."

I can only think of two somewhat rational reasons why they wouldn't want to reveal too much about the local financial markets to a foreigner. Neither of them can make Korean investors feel too good.

1. It would make the markets more accessible to foreign investors and therefore more vulnerable to foreign takeovers. While foreign takeovers might seem like a blow to national pride to some people, the threat of them forces management to try to drive stock prices higher thru running their companies more efficiently (or cooking the books- but doing things more efficiently is more sustainable). High stock prices are, of course, good for investors in that stock.
2. The local financial markets are dysfunctional and/or corrupt and the foreigner would reveal that, scaring away investment. Of course, if the markets really are that bad, it's only a matter of time before that comes out and the markets suffer. The sooner, the better.