South Korean attorney Lee Chan-jin, a longtime associate and former legal representative of President Lee Jae-myung, was nominated Wednesday as the new governor of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) — South Korea’s chief financial regulator. The surprise appointment came during an extraordinary meeting of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), which formally recommended Lee’s nomination. Final approval by the president is expected in the coming days.

Lee, 61, graduated from Seoul National University’s law school and was in the same cohort as President Lee at the Judicial Research and Training Institute. Lee has no direct experience in financial supervision, but