By Kim Jae-won
Hana Financial Group President Kim Jong-yeol, who played a key role in the firm’s bid to take over the Korea Exchange Bank (KEB), resigned without prior notice Wednesday afternoon.
“I am associated with the image of the commander of an occupying force at KEB, and so by resigning I want one more hurdle for Hana’s takeover to be removed,” Kim said during a telephone interview Wednesday evening.
He said that nobody forced him to step down, saying, “It is my decision and my decision alone. I notified Chairman Kim Seung-yu at his office of my decision at 2:30 p.m.”
Few expected Kim to make such a surprise announcement because even in the morning he was making the rounds with other top Hana officials as part of their New Year routine visiting media outlets.
The 59-year-old lifelong banker said he had been considering stepping down since the beginning of the year on concerns his hard-line image could dent the consolidation of the two financial companies.
The KEB union appeared to be baffled by the reason for his resignation. “We have not raised an issue with President Kim. We suspect Kim is blaming us, and is stepping down for some other reasons that can’t be disclosed,” a union spokesman said.
There were rumors that Kim was estranged from Chairman Kim, with whom he has worked for much of their careers, in the handling of Hana’s bid to take over KEB from Lone Star, the Texas-based fund that owns the majority stake in KEB.
Some sources say that Kim’s resignation came as the result of power struggle similar to that at Shinhan Financial Group.
Shinhan’s internal feud took place in 2010 and 2011, when Chairman Ra Eung-chan conspired with Bank CEO Lee Baek-soon to dislodge President Shin Sang-hoon. Shin first was forced to leave but ensuing revelations of irregularities triggered Ra and Lee’s departure. Ra and Shin were regarded as “comrades in arms,” playing a role in Shinhan’s meteoric rise.
All of the three resigned after prosecutors and financial regulators began to investigate their wrongdoings.
“President Kim and Hana Bank CEO Kim Jung-tae don’t like each other,” said a source familiar with the matter on condition of anonymity, speculating that the former lost.
During the telephone interview, President Kim denied it. “It is not true. I am leaving for the bigger cause of promoting Hana’s KEB acquisition.”
Hana Financial is waiting for regulatory approval of its 3.9 trillion won ($3.4 billion) deal with Lone Star Funds to buy a controlling 51.02 percent stake in KEB.
Hana is expected to appoint Kim's successor via a board meeting in February and a shareholders meeting in March. Hana Bank Executive Vice Presidents Kim Byeong-ho and Lee Hyeon-ju, who played critical roles in the KEB deal, could be among candidates for promotion, according to sources.