The selection process for bank leaders at South Korea's five major financial groups has officially begun. Following Shinhan Financial's initiation of its CEO succession procedures, KB, Hana, and Woori Financial activated their respective committees on September 30. NH Nonghyup Financial is also understood to have commenced its succession process in accordance with internal regulations.
According to the financial sector on September 30, KB Financial held a meeting of its Candidate Recommendation Committee to discuss the criteria for selecting candidates for bank and affiliate CEO positions. Woori Financial also convened its Candidate Recommendation Committee, while Hana Financial launched its Group Executive Candidate Recommendation Committee and Hana Bank's Candidate Recommendation Committee to kick off the year-end selection process.
On September 21, Shinhan Financial held a meeting of its subsidiary CEO Candidate Recommendation Committee to begin the succession process for the 12 subsidiary CEOs whose terms are set to expire at the end of the year. NH Nonghyup Financial is required to start its succession process three months prior to the expiration of the CEO's term, which aligns with the timing of its current procedures.
This year's selections are noteworthy as they come shortly after financial authorities called for an enhanced role of boards and candidate recommendation committees in the CEO selection process for subsidiaries. Lee Chan-jin, the head of the Financial Supervisory Service, emphasized the need for transparency in the succession process and the importance of the subsidiary boards playing a substantial role in candidate verification during a meeting with the chairpersons of major financial groups on September 23.
Financial groups are also refining their related procedures. Hana Financial has allowed its bank candidate recommendation committee to provide input on the final candidate pool, while Woori Financial has established new procedures for performance evaluations and external expert verifications. Shinhan Financial has also expanded the authority of its bank candidate recommendation committee for this selection process.
As the holding companies continue to play a significant role in managing candidate pools and the final recommendation process, the extent to which bank boards are involved in narrowing down and verifying candidates is expected to be a key factor in this year's selections.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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