The Federation of Korean Industries(FKI), the country's leading business lobby group, has revamped and rebranded with the appointment of a new chief.

In a major overhaul, the group held an extraordinary general meeting on Tuesday and approved the change to its Korean name and a merger with the FKI-affiliated think tank, the Korea Economic Research Institute.

The new name in the abbreviated Korean form, "Hangyeonghyeop" will be used upon the industry ministry's approval of related articles of association which is expected sometime next month, but the English name will remain unchanged.

The FKI also appointed Poongsan Group chairman Ryu Jin as its new chair, who in his inaugural speech vowed to make the business group a global think tank that paves the way for the future of the Korean economy.

He also pledged to part ways with the federation's murky past and rebuild trust by announcing the creation of a new ethics committee and revealing an ethics charter that reflects commitment to eradicate past practices of collusion with political powers.

The merger with the think tank has created legal grounds for affiliates of the top four conglomerates – Samsung, SK, LG and Hyundai Motor – to rejoin the FKI, having remained members only of the research institute after withdrawing from the FKI in 2017 in the wake of a massive political corruption scandal.