Shinhan Financial Nominates Park Jong-bok and Professor Lim Seung-yeon as Outside Directors

Shinhan Financial Group has nominated Park Jong-bok, former CEO of SC First Bank, and Lim Seung-yeon, a professor at Kookmin University, as new outside directors. 

Shinhan’s board on Tuesday approved the nominations at a meeting of its Outside Director and Audit Committee Candidate Recommendation Committee. 

Park, a former deputy head of retail banking at SC First Bank, was recommended as a financial expert. Shinhan said he led growth and improved profitability during more than a decade as SC First Bank CEO and successfully pushed new businesses including digital initiatives. It said his retail experience would support consumer-focused management. 

Shinhan also said Park’s governance experience at a global financial group would allow him to provide practical advice aligned with global standards. It added that, alongside director Choi Young-kwon’s capital-markets expertise, Park’s appointment would help the board offer balanced guidance spanning banking and capital markets. 

Lim is a U.S. certified public accountant and has served as dean of Kookmin University’s business school. If Lim is approved and directors Kim Jo-seol, Song Seong-ju and Jeon Myo-sang are all reappointed at the shareholders meeting, Shinhan is expected to maintain four female outside directors. 

Shinhan described Lim as a candidate with academic achievements in accounting and a deep understanding of governance through experience as an outside director and audit committee member at other companies. It said it nominated a female accounting expert to maintain expertise and diversity after the term of Yoon Jae-won, a finance and accounting specialist, expires. Shinhan said it expects Lim to advise on internal controls and play an oversight role as the board’s responsibilities for internal control and auditing grow. 

The board also recommended the reappointment of five outside directors whose terms expire in March: Kwak Soo-geun (emeritus professor at Seoul National University’s business school), Kim Jo-seol (professor at Osaka University of Commerce), Bae Hoon (attorney at Orbis law firm), Song Seong-ju (professor of statistics at Korea University) and Choi Young-kwon (former CEO of Woori Asset Management). 

It recommended Kwak and Lim as outside directors who would serve as audit committee members, and nominated Bae and Choi as audit committee candidates, reflecting revisions to the Commercial Act. The nominees will be finalized after approval at this month’s annual shareholders meeting. 

Separately, Yoon Jae-won, whose term ends under regulations, and Lee Yong-guk, who has said he intends to resign, are expected to step down after this month’s annual shareholders meeting.