[THE INVESTOR] A petition supporting embattled Financial Supervisory Service Gov. Kim Ki-sik is gaining momentum, despite strong protests from the opposition political parties.

Kim is currently on the brink of stepping down due to criticism over his past conduct. As of April 16 -- just six days since the petition was filed -- it drew more than 100,000 signatures. The supporters say that he is the only person who can lead the reform of conglomerates and financial institutions.

The presidential office Cheong Wa Dae has to respond to all public petitions that garner more than 200,000 signatures within a one-month period. Critics, however, say some of the signatures are from former or current members of the think tank he belonged to.

FSS Gov. Kim Ki-sik

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Kim took office two weeks ago as head of the country’s financial watchdog, but soon faced criticism over his past conduct.

His opponents discovered that he went on multimillion won business trips funded by the very institutions he was supposed to monitor as a member of a related parliamentary oversight committee. Kim also donated the remains of his political donations to a group of legislators who in turn donated it to a think tank. This think tank is in hot water for its affiliation with Kim and for violating laws by renting out members to speak at institutions subject to legislative oversight for hefty commissions.

The National Election Commission, which was commissioned to rule on these and other actions is expected to reach a decision later today.

On April 14, President Moon Jae-in said he would sack Kim if he was found to have engaged in any kind of behavior that is “substantially below ethical standards” and deemed “unacceptable” by the public.

By Park Ga-Young (gypark@heraldcorp.com)