By Kim Yeon-hee
SEOUL, Sept 5 (Reuters) - At a dinner with Korea Development Bank (KDB) staff last month, CEO Min Euoo-sung sang his favourite song, "Leopard in Mt. Kilimanjaro", a reflection of his desire to be a hunter in the volatile financial world.
And after taking over the staid, state-run bank this summer, he began stalking his previous employer -- the beleaguered U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers (LEH.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).
When the 54-year old was appointed in June, he became the bank's first chief executive to come from outside the ranks of government.
KDB, dubbed by the local media as "God's workplace" for its high salaries and low workload, has long been seen as a secure place to work.
Min's arrival was not immediately welcomed at the bank, which has played a critical role in South Korea's dramatic economic rise since it was founded in 1954 as a policy bank, a year after the end of the Korean War.
The bank's union members protested, preventing Min from going to work for three days because they argued his last job running Lehman's South Korean operations did not qualify him to run the far bigger KDB.
It was no coincidence that his rise came under new President Lee Myung-bak, who wants to reshape the financial sector to help shift to a more service-driven economy now that a once-dominant manufacturing sector faces tough competition from China.
President Lee wants to make South Korea's underdeveloped and rule-bound banks as powerful and international as the country's technology companies, shipbuilders and steelmakers.
Min, who headed Lehman's local office from 2005, is clearly on message.
As soon as he took over, Min dropped the traditional title of "Governor" and called himself CEO.
"An investment banker is not a farmer but a hunter. KDB used to be a farmer," he recently told staff.
If he succeeds in taking Lehman, it would be the first investment for a South Korean financial services firm in a top overseas bank. It would also fit with the government's goal of eventually transforming KDB into a global investment bank.
A first task of the man nicknamed "Bulldog" for his aggressive work style, but whose former Lehman colleagues call a friendly manager, is to prepare KDB for privatisation by 2012 as part of the government's sweeping plans to sell bank holdings.
Min received his MBA from the State University of New York, Buffalo, and went on to build a career at Salomon Smith Barney, Morgan Stanley (MS.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Citibank (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and government-controlled Woori Finance Holdings (053000.KS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).
RESTRUCTURING
As CFO in 2001-04, Min spearheaded Woori's restructuring and its New York Stock Exchange listing. At the time, a colleague there was Jun Kwang-woo, who now chairs the Financial Services Commission.
There was talk of conflict between the two when Jun publicly stated his opposition to KDB leading any Lehman takeover, saying it should merely serve as a catalyst with private banks doing most of the running. Min this week denied there was any strain.
A senior regulator later softened the stand, saying the government would stay neutral until it knew the terms of any deal.
Min has made clear he thinks mergers are the way to go.
"When it comes to growth strategy, M&A deals will be important for financial companies," he said in July.
One person who worked under him said Min was the right man for the job if he succeeds in bringing Lehman under KDB's wing.
"He is a workaholic and a man with a positive drive," he said. "He fully empowered people once they gained his trust and took full responsibility." (Editing by Jonathan Thatcher and Jean Yoon)
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