Lee Min-hyung joined The Korea Times in 2014 and has worked as a journalist mainly in Korea’s finance, tech and automotive industry. He specializes in content creation, breaking news and in-depth analysis currently on transportation and mobility. You can reach him via mhlee@koreatimes.co.kr.
IBK, BNK set for year-end leadership reshuffle
Industrial Bank of Korea CEO Yoon Jong-won, left, and former BNK Financial Group Chairman Kim Ji-wan / Yonhap
By Lee Min-hyung
Major banking groups expected to focus on stability in year-end reshuffle
By Lee Min-hyung
The Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) and BNK Financial Group are moving to reshuffle their top management. This will be the first major shakeup in the financial sector as the year-end organizational reform period draws closer.
IBK CEO Yoon Jong-won ends his three-year tenure in January 2023. He has expressed his intention of stepping down from the post without extending his term.
President Yoon Suk-yeol will appoint the next IBK chief, but it remains to be seen whether another external figure will be selected to lead the bank just as CEO Yoon has been doing for the past three years. Earlier, the union of the lender blocked the CEO's entry into its headquarters, expressing fierce opposition to the former Moon Jae-in administration's parachute appointment.
The union has underscored the need to appoint the next IBK leader internally to ensure awareness of the state-run bank's structure and to avoid political interests but it is still unclear whether the president will heed these concerns.
Some bureaucrats ― such as former Financial Supervisory Service Governor Jeong Eun-bo and ex-Financial Services Commission Vice Chairman Doh Kyu-sang ― are rumored to be in line for the position. IBK Capital CEO Choi Hyun-sook and IBK Vice President Kim Sung-tae are also considered candidates for the post.
BNK Financial Group will also carry out a major reshuffle of its top management, after its Chairman Kim Ji-wan resigned on Monday, about five months before the end of his tenure. Kim came under fire for his alleged involvement in unfairly offering preferential business treatment to Hanyang Securities where his son works.
“We will hold a board meeting as soon as possible to minimize the management vacuum after Kim's resignation,” an official from the group said. “BNK will also undertake relevant procedures to appoint its next leader by holding a CEO recommendation committee.”
But other major banking groups ― such as KB, Shinhan, Hana, Woori and NH ― are widely expected to focus on stability over risk-taking during their year-end organizational reshuffles.
NH Financial Group CEO Son Byung-hwan ends his two-year tenure at the end of this year. But given the group's robust earnings growth, his term will likely be extended. NH Financial Group generated a net profit of 1.97 trillion won for the first three quarters combined, up 8.1 percent from the previous year.
NH's ongoing drive in digital transformation also draws positive responses from the industry after the group launched its All One Bank app in June, which enables users to access NH's financial services ― such as credit cards, insurance and stock trading ― through a single mobile platform.
Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Cho Yong-byoung and Woori Financial Group Chairman Son Tae-seung will also end their tenure in March next year. The two banking groups have extended winning streaks in their earnings for the past few years and are on track to report further record profits this year, increasing the likelihood for the extension of their leaderships again.