Bank CEOs on edge over year-end reappointment as governance scrutiny grows

By Park Han-sol

• Published Sep 23, 2026 2:06 PM KST

With the terms of 54 top executives at major financial holding companies’ affiliates set to expire at the end of the year, including the CEOs of all five major commercial banks, the government is stepping up pressure on financial groups to make their leadership succession more transparent and address any procedural shortcomings, according to industry officials Wednesday.

Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) Gov. Lee Chan-jin made the call at a meeting with the chairmen of eight financial groups — KB, Shinhan, Hana, Woori, NH NongHyup, iM, BNK and JB — at his agency's headquarters in Seoul, Wednesday.

CEO appointments at their subsidiaries, Lee said, should be “a transparent and fair process for identifying the right candidates based on their capabilities, without being swayed by particular factions or personal relationships.”

Holding companies that still lack what the FSS considers basic safeguards, including clearly defined qualifications for the top job and a minimum period for assessing candidates at each stage, should address those gaps before launching their appointment process, he added.

Lee also called for subsidiary CEO recommendation committees to have a more meaningful say in the selection of candidates, rather than leaving the process largely in the hands of their parent holding companies.

Lee’s latest call comes just a week after he raised similar concerns at a meeting of senior FSS officials on Sept. 15. With financial authorities’ broader corporate governance reform package yet to be unveiled, his renewed push for greater transparency appears intended to serve as consideration for financial groups weighing their year-end appointments.

The terms of the KB Kookmin Bank CEO Lee Hwan-ju, Shinhan Bank CEO Jung Sang-hyuk, Hana Bank CEO Lee Ho-sung, Woori Bank CEO Jung Jin-wan and NH NongHyup Bank CEO Kang Tae-young are all due to expire at the end of December. Bank CEOs typically serve two-year terms, with a possible one-year extension based on management performance.

In previous years, strong earnings have often provided a clear case for keeping an incumbent in place. This year, however, industry officials note that performance may no longer be enough to settle the question.

The issue has gained further attention following the surprise leadership change at KB Financial Group. Yang Jong-hee, who was widely expected to secure a second term after delivering strong earnings during his tenure, was instead replaced by Vice Chairman Lee Jae-keun.

“Since KB Financial had delivered industry-leading results under Yang’s tenure, the market had widely expected him to stay. The fact that the group still went with a leadership change suggests that business performance alone may no longer be enough,” a banking industry official said.

“Factors like the financial authorities’ push for corporate governance reform, as well as a convincing rationale for retaining an incumbent, are likely to carry more weight than before.”