Lee Jong Ho was appointed as the new chief executive officer for the three-year term in the general shareholder’s meeting.

He mentioned that the payment business environment is rapidly changing; characterized by continuing demand for decrease in merchant discount rate by merchants, re-establishment of BC Card’s identity based on member banks’ separation movement from BC Card, and the advent of new payment process driven by the convergence between telecommunication and finance.

Coping with those changes, he stressed that he will achieve sustainable growth by creating services based on BC Card’s vast merchant network and infrastructure, convergence between telecommunications and finance, and interactive communication between BC and its cardholders. Future BC business will focus on ►securing its comparative advantage in the acquiring business, ►promoting new convergence business, and ►advancing global business.

In regards to the acquiring business, BC will claim its comparative advantage by improving process efficiency and by developing mutual profit-sharing service for merchants.

The new CEO also announced that BC will actively pursue business convergence between telecommunications and finance. In this perspective, BC plans to continue its ‘Next Generation Mobile Card’ project, with the goal of being promulgated as the industry standard and national standard in mobile credit card industry.

He referred to the importance of global business as well. “BC Card has a strong business model applicable and marketable in countries with less developed payment infrastructure. It is time for BC to push forward its global business and produce visible output.”

Lee concluded, “BC Card will try its utmost best to ensure mutual benefits and win-win results for its client banks, shareholders, and workers. To promote our client banks’ business, we will dispose our resources more efficiently and renovate our services.”

The new CEO of BC Card, Lee Jong Ho started his career at Bank of Korea in 1976, after graduating from Seoul National University. He was senior director and direct manager in Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) and served in a number of key posts, including executive auditor of LG Investment, CEO of LG Card and KT Capital.