This is the second and last in a two-part series of articles about tasks facing new Korea Exchange Bank CEO Yun Yong-ro. — ED.
By Kim Jae-won
Employees of the Korea Exchange Bank (KEB) said Thursday that they want their new CEO Yun Yong-ro to keep the bank as a separate entity from Hana Financial Group, its new major shareholder.
Hana bought a controlling stake in KEB from U.S.-based private equity company Lone Star Funds last month after waiting 15 months for delayed regulatory approval.
Many KEB workers evaluate Yun positively appreciating his efforts to be on their side, but worried how long the honeymoon period will last.
“Yun has not been bad so far. We know he is doing his best to make KEB better,” said Kim Bo-heon, a spokesman of the lender’s trade union.
“The most important task for Yun is to manage KEB independently from Hana. We want him to take the initiative to solve any disputes with Hana.”
Kim said there had been some misunderstanding between Hana and KEB managers as the former contacted departments and branches of the latter directly asking for cooperation and documents. Kim said that the union would fight against Hana, if Yun fails to keep the bank from such intervention.
Hana agreed last month with the union to allow independent management for KEB over five years. The union spokesman said that everybody will be loser if Yun cannot mediate between Hana and KEB employees.
A junior employee of the bank said she was surprised by Yun’s decisive shuffle of KEB’s vice presidents.
“I did not expect him to fire all of the executive vice presidents at one time. He looks mild, but has a decisive character,” she said on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.
A senior male KEB official, who also declined to identify himself, said that he was content with Yun’s human resources strategy.
“I think he did well to replace executives who held the posts for a long time under Lone Star. It is good to refresh the organization with new faces.”
A former KEB executive said that Yun is contacting former KEB employees for advice in managing Korea’s sixth-largest bank.
“Yun is getting advice from a former KEB official who is close to him on HR matters. He seems to have many concerns about managing the bank,” said the former executive on condition of anonymity.
Experts say a key factor to succeed in the job is to maintain a balance between Hana and KEB as he has no personal networks at the firms.