The selection process for the next CEOs of South Korea's five major banks is officially underway. This year, in addition to the existing framework where financial holding companies narrow down candidates and subsidiaries verify them, there is growing attention on the expanded role of the bank's executive candidate recommendation committees in candidate discovery, recommendation, and evaluation.
According to the financial sector on September 27, KB Financial Group plans to hold a meeting of its subsidiary CEO candidate recommendation committee by the end of this month. While the specific schedule has yet to be confirmed, in 2024, the holding company's committee narrowed down candidates in mid-November, recommended them by the end of the month, and conducted in-depth interviews and shareholder meetings through the bank's candidate recommendation committee in December.
With the terms of the five major bank presidents—Lee Hwan-joo of KB Kookmin Bank, Jung Sang-hyuk of Shinhan Bank, Lee Ho-sung of Hana Bank, Jung Jin-wan of Woori Bank, and Kang Tae-young of NH Nonghyup Bank—set to expire on December 31, the financial holding companies have either already begun or are expected to initiate their succession processes by the end of this month. Financial authorities recommend that succession procedures start at least three months before the CEO's term ends to ensure good governance practices.
This year's succession process is particularly focused on enhancing transparency in governance and strengthening the practical role of subsidiary candidate recommendation committees, as emphasized by financial authorities.
On September 23, Lee Chan-jin, the head of the Financial Supervisory Service, met with the chairpersons of financial holding companies and stressed the need to select suitable candidates based on merit rather than factional ties or personal relationships during the CEO selection process for subsidiaries. He also urged that the holding company’s subsidiary CEO candidate recommendation committee provide sufficient information to the subsidiary committees and incorporate their opinions during the evaluation of CEO candidates.
Earlier, Shinhan Financial began its CEO succession process on September 21, taking steps to expand the role of the bank's candidate recommendation committee by sharing information about succession candidates and granting the committee the authority to recommend individuals to be included in the candidate pool.
Hana Financial is also proceeding with its succession process by facilitating communication between the group candidate recommendation committee and the Hana Bank committee during the candidate selection process. Between September and October, the bank's committee will finalize the candidate pool based on recommendations and conduct in-depth verification of qualifications before confirming a shortlist. In November and December, the group committee will relay the shortlist to the bank committee for feedback before making final recommendations, with the bank committee comprehensively reviewing the candidates' qualifications and capabilities for the shareholder meeting. Final appointments will be confirmed after the bank's board and shareholder meeting in mid-December.
Woori Financial also plans to enhance the role of its bank candidate recommendation committee by providing sufficient information about the candidate pool and incorporating their feedback during the succession process. The specific schedule for narrowing down candidates and making final recommendations will be determined through discussions within the holding company's candidate recommendation committee.
NH Nonghyup Financial Group will have its holding company’s candidate recommendation committee recommend candidates, followed by the NH Nonghyup Bank committee conducting verification before presenting the agenda to the shareholder meeting.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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