Bank of America Merrill Lynch has hired SeungGu Park from Credit Suisse to head its Korea business, according to an email sent to the bank’s staff in Seoul yesterday.
Park fills a gap left by the departure of Sung Eun Ahn, who quit in April this year to run Deutsche Bank’s Korea business — a position he will take up on July 1. Ahn had been chief executive and head of investment banking at BoA Merrill in Korea since 2004.
After a three-month period of leave, Park will start as country executive at BoA Merrill in August, when he will also become a member of the Asia-Pacific executive committee.
“[Park] will be responsible for driving forward our already leading platform in Korea, ensuring that we are connected and coordinated across business lines and that our controls and governance are aligned,” said Asia-Pacific president Matthew Koder in the email.
Park spent 17 years at Credit Suisse, most recently as branch manager of the bank's Seoul securities unit. He was also a senior managing director within the investment banking division, reporting to Chunkee Lee, Korea chief executive and head of Korea investment banking at the Swiss bank.
BoA Merrill has a strong Korea franchise and has been involved in several notable deals this year, including its role as sole bookrunner on the $670 million sale of ING’s 5% stake in KB Financial Group. It has also helped to raise roughly $2 billion in the international bond market through deals for KDB, Kexim and Hana Bank, as well as helping to arrange Lotte Shopping’s $300 million convertible.
