Korea First Bank Directors

Standard Chartered PLC
11 April 2005

                     Board appointments at Korea First Bank

                     Senior Koreans appointed as directors

Standard Chartered PLC today (April 11) announced future appointments to the
Board of Korea First Bank, subject to regulatory approval and closing of the
transaction.

Standard Chartered Group Executive Director Mr Kai Nargolwala is to be appointed
as Chairman of Korea First Bank, respected former regulator, Dr Oh, Kap-Soo, is
to be Vice-Chairman and a Non-Executive Director, while Mr John Filmeridis is to
be President and Chief Executive Officer.

Five other Directors are also being announced. Mr Lee, Yoon-Jae will continue as
a Non-Executive Director providing continuity from the current Korea First Bank
Board and a recognised commitment to good governance. He will be joined by
experienced banker Mr Oh, Sei Jong, who has deep experience in Korea's financial
services sector. Former Financial Supervisory Commission counselor Dr Kwon,
Jae-Jung is to be standing auditor. Standard Chartered's Group Head of Human
Resources, Mr Tim Miller, and Group Head, Risk and Special Assets Management, Mr
David Edwards, are also being appointed to the Board. Mr Miller is a director of
Standard Chartered Bank, while Mr Edwards is a member of Standard Chartered's
Group Management Committee.



'Our aim is to be a leader in Korea's financial services industry. These
appointments in Korea and from within the Standard Chartered Group, give us very
strong, experienced leadership to guide our business growth in the world's 10th
largest economy,' said Mr Mervyn Davies, Standard Chartered's Group Chief
Executive. 'They reflect our commitment to strong Korean participation in the
top management tier of Korea First Bank.'

Mr Davies added: 'John Filmeridis is an accompIished international banker with a
tremendous range of experience in growing wholesale and consumer banking
businesses.'

Tom McCabe, who is currently Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered
Korea, will continue in his current role during the process of integrating Korea
First Bank with Standard Chartered.

Standard Chartered expects to generate significant business growth by combining
Korea First Bank's nationwide platform and 400 branches with Standard
Chartered's products and international network.




BIOGRAPHIES

Kai Nargolwala: As Standard Chartered's Group Executive Director with
responsibility for Asia, Mr Nargolwala, 55, has responsibilities that include
developing strategy and business performance across Asia, as well as strategic
merger and acquisition activity. He has been closely involved with the
development of Standard Chartered's presence in Korea.

He is also Chairman of Standard Chartered's global wholesale banking business,
and a non-executive director of Tate and Lyle and Visa Asia Pacific. He joined
Standard Chartered in 1998 and before that worked for Bank of America for 19
years, latterly as Group Executive Vice President; Head of Asia Wholesale
Banking Group. He is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in
England and Wales.

Kap-Soo Oh: Dr Oh, a leading figure in Korea's financial services industry,
joined Korea's Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) in 1999, initially as
Assistant Governor, before taking on the role of Deputy Governor in early 2002.
At the FSS, he managed the integration of Korea's various supervisory agencies
into the FSS, implemented best practices for bank governance reform and credit
risk management, and created a World Bank-supported Policy Advisory Panel to
help Korea move ahead with market and regulatory reform.

He was previously a Professor at the College of Business at both Drexel and
Oklahoma State Universities, and Deputy Director at Bank of Korea. He completed
a PhD in Finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in
1986, and was a Teaching Fellow from 1980 to 1984. Dr. Oh has presented his
expertise and insight on Korea's economic reform and restructuring in speeches
and papers at many international conferences and forums.


In addition to his role with Korea First Bank, Dr Oh will be an advisor to both
the Chairman and the Group Chief Executive of Standard Chartered PLC.




'We are very honoured to have someone of Dr Oh's experience and background
helping our Group in North East Asia. He has enjoyed a distinguished career as a
regulator, and has been closely involved in formulating and implementing
financial supervision and reform in Korea,' said Mr Davies.

John Filmeridis: Mr Filmeridis, 56, has 33 years' experience in banking and over
nine years with Standard Chartered. He was previously Standard Chartered's
Global Product Head for credit cards, personal loans and SME Banking, which
accounts for more than 20 per cent of the Group's revenue worldwide. Prior to
that he was Regional General Manager for the Middle East South Asia and CEO for
Standard Chartered India.

Before joining Standard Chartered Mr Filmeridis spent over 18 years with
American Express in various country Chief Executive Officer positions and
regional management assignments in the Middle East, New York, India and Hong
Kong.

He has a Masters in Business Administration from Southern Methodist University,
Dallas, Texas.


Yoon-Jae Lee: First appointed as Outside Director of Korea First Bank in 2000,
and having been re-appointed in 2003, Mr Lee has served on key Board Committees
including the Executive Committee, the Committee for Outside Director
Nomination, and the Compensation Committee.


In addition to a first degree at Seoul National University's College of Law, he
is also a graduate of Stanford University's prestigious MBA programme. Mr Lee
has held numerous senior positions within the Ministry of Finance and Economy
and the Office of the President.






He is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Korean Enterprise Institute
(KorEI), which is a private think tank, specialising in corporate-related
policies and issues. He also serves as an Outside Director for Samsung F&M
Insurance.

Sei Jong Oh: As a career banker, Mr Oh, 61, has more than 35 years experience in
the commercial and investment banking industry. He started with Korea
Development Finance Corporation, the predecessor of Korea Long Term Credit Bank
(KLB). He was appointed President and CEO of KLB in February 1998 and became
Chairman of the Board of Kookmin Bank, which merged with KLB at the end of that
year.

He is a non executive director of SK Corporation. Mr Oh graduated in Economics
at Seoul National University and has an MBA from University of California at
Berkeley.

Jae-Jung Kwon: Dr Kwon has a strong academic background and extensive experience
in a financial advisory role for private institutes and government regulatory
bodies. He is a Senior Research Fellow at the Korea Institute of Finance and,
until recently, was Senior Counselor to the Chairman at Korea's Financial
Supervisory Commission.

He is the author of a number of papers on financial sector reform in key Korean
economic and financial publications. Dr Kwon graduated in Economics at Seoul
National University and has a PhD in Economics from Rice University, Texas.


Tim Miller: Mr Miller, 47, is a director of Standard Chartered Bank, the main
operating subsidiary of Standard Chartered PLC. As Group Head of Human
Resources, he is responsible for Standard Chartered's Human Resources function
in 56 countries and territories. In this role his work has included
re-organising Standard Chartered's management structure and processes to improve
decision- making and business efficiency and, involvement in managing the
integration of ANZ Grindlays in India and the Middle East.


He joined Standard Chartered in 2000 and was previously Executive Director of
Human Resources for GlaxoSmithKline's worldwide manufacturing operations. Mr
Miller has a Master in Business Administration from the Scottish Business School
and currently completing a Doctorate at the University of Nottingham. He is a
Member of the Institute of Personnel and Development.


David Edwards: Mr Edwards, 51, is an international banker with 31 years'
experience. He is currently Standard Chartered's Group Head of Risk and Group
Special Assets Management and a member of the Group Management Committee. His
previous role was as Regional General Manager for the Middle East and South Asia
(excluding India).


Mr Edwards joined Standard Chartered in 1999 as Group Head, Risk Management.
Prior to this he worked for 25 years with the NatWest Group, concluding his
career with NatWest as Group Regional Managing Director Asia Pacific. He has an
MBA from Manchester Business School/University of Wales.





Standard Chartered - leading the way in Asia, Africa and the Middle East


Standard Chartered employs 33,000 people in over 550 locations in more than 50
countries in the Asia Pacific Region, South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, the
United Kingdom and the Americas. It is one of the world's most international
banks, with employees representing 80 nationalities.


Standard Chartered PLC is listed on both the London Stock Exchange and the Stock
Exchange of Hong Kong and is in the top 25 FTSE companies, by market
capitalisation.


It serves both Consumer and Wholesale Banking customers. Consumer Banking
provides credit cards, personal loans, mortgages, deposit taking and wealth
management services to individuals and small to medium sized enterprises.
Wholesale Banking provides corporate and institutional clients with services in
trade finance, cash management, lending, securities services, foreign exchange,
debt capital markets and corporate finance.


Standard Chartered is well-established in growth markets and aims to be the
right partner for its customers. The Bank combines deep local knowledge with
global capability.


The Bank is trusted across its network for its standard of governance and its
commitment to making a difference in the communities in which it operates.




Korea First Bank


Established in 1929, Korea First Bank is broad based, serving customers across
South Korea with both customer and commercial banking products as well as a wide
range of trust and investment management services.


Korea First Bank is the seventh largest banking group in Korea by assets
totaling US$42 billion. The Bank has strong track record of credit quality with
one of the lowest ratios of non-performing loans (1.5%: December 2004). The Bank
has the 5th largest branch network of 398 branches, including one mobile bank,
2,057 ATM and CD machines and three overseas units. Korea First Bank has 3.3
million retail and 67,000 corporate customers with 1.2 million credit cards in
circulation and 2.4 million e-Banking clients. The Bank's modern and efficient
Customer Service Centres are located in Busan and Seoul.


Standard Chartered Bank in Korea


Standard Chartered Bank is a long standing supporter of Korea. Its history in
the country can be traced to the 1880s, when it opened an agency in what is now
Incheon. Currently, it is engaged in consumer banking and wholesale banking and
is a major provider of global market and banking service products to Korean
companies and banks. A long-standing supporter of Korea, Standard Chartered Bank
aims to expand its business and increase investment in consumer banking in
particular. The bank employs around 200 employees, almost entirely Koreans.
Standard Chartered Bank is a leader in bank syndications, the country's No. 2
provider of custody services, and a Top 5 Bank in Korean won trading.


The bank entered the consumer banking sector in September 2003, and opened a
Priority Banking Center in May 2004 in the Yeoksam-dong district of Seoul. It is
the first independent private banking branch established by a foreign bank in
Korea and a demonstration of Standard Chartered's intention to be the right
partner to Korean consumers based on global competence and an in-depth knowledge
of local market.


Standard Chartered has sponsored a number of international conferences that
position Korea as a financial services hub.


For more information, visit www.standardchartered.com

For further information, please contact

Standard Chartered Bank Korea

Kay Oh, Head, Corporate Affairs

[phone] / [phone]

[e-mail]


Standard Chartered, Group Corporate Affairs

Paul Marriage, Head Corporate Communications

[phone]/ [phone]

[e-mail]

Cindy Tang, Head, Media Relations

[phone]/ [phone]

[e-mail]



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