[By NBC-1TV H. J Yook]The Korea Institute of Finance (President Tae Joon Kim, www.kif.re.kr) and Citibank Korea (CEO Yung Ku Ha, www.citibank.co.kr) held the “Award Ceremony of the 4th Citi-KIF Financial Essay Competition” on June 18, 2011 at the conference room of Banker’s Club in Myung-dong.

The competition lasted from March 28 to May 31, 2011 to college students at home and abroad. During the period, 277 essays (131 individuals and 146 teams) from 60 universities were received, out of which 150 teams from 52 universities (65 individuals and 85 teams) were named as outstanding essays. These teams were again subject to final review and as a result, 5 million won was given to a grand prize winner team, 3.5 million won to two first-runner ups, 2 million won to 3 second runner-ups, and 1 million won to the remaining 144 teams. This year’s competition was all the more meaningful as the awardees were invited to participate in corporate social responsibility programs. Students volunteered for fixing childcare centers for children from low-income families in 8 regions and environmental preservation activities in two areas, all of which were aimed at attracting students’ attention to underprivileged people and boosting their sense of community.

KIF President Tae-Joon Kim said, “Constant endeavor to become responsible experts in financial industry is crucial” and Yung Ku Ha, CEO of Citibank Korea Inc encouraged the students by saying “I hope all of you will fulfill your dreams by exploiting your potential and creativity.”

At the ceremony, a special lecture was given by Chairwoman Bae-Yong Lee of the Presidential Council on Nation Branding, followed by the mentoring time where Citibank employees and KIF financial specialist mentored the participating students.

Citibank Korea first started the essay contest in 2008 as part of its initiatives to develop sustainable programs for nurturing future leaders in the financial sector who will later contribute to the competitiveness of the Korean financial industry. It has been organized by the KIF, sponsored by the Citi Foundation, and advised by the Financial Supervisory Service.

Winners of this year’s competition are as follows:

- Grand Prize: Kwang-Ho Kim (KAIST) - ‘Study on interaction of stake ownership between foreign investors and individual investors and its impact on the capital structure and corporate value’

- First Runner-up 1: Joon-Ho Bae, Seung-Joo Lee (Seoul National Univ.) - ‘Essay on Risk-Choice Problem in Small-Financial Conglomerates’
- First Runner-up 2: Seong-Yeol Huh (Yeungnam Univ.) - ‘Study on enhancing transparency of KOSDAQ-listed companies based on financial ratio analysis’

- Second Runner-up 1: Seong-Min Choi (Yonsei Univ.) - ‘Study on relationship between national CDS theoretical pricing and its determinants - focusing on EDF, linear equation, cointegration’
- Second Runner-up 2: Jong-Soo Chang, Han-Sang Kim (Kyunghee Univ.) - ‘Analysis of mutual shock response trends between FX market and capital market’
- Second Runner-up 3: Ji-Soo Jeong, Jin-Woo Kim (Sangmyung Univ.) - ‘Study on facilitation of individual stock futures-options transactions’