Bankers with global experience take the helm

KEB Hana Bank CEO Ji Sung-kyoo

By Lee Kyung-min

Newly appointed CEOs of Korea's major commercial banks have one thing in common: extensive overseas experience.

A broad perspective gained from overcoming challenges in countries with different cultures which requires extreme agility to strategize client orientation and market approach is crucial to setting a long-term vision to identify a firm's sustainable future growth.

It is not an option but a requirement to solidify global presence as the local market is fast nearing saturation.

KEB Hana Bank CEO Ji Sung-kyoo is a known China specialist.

Of his 30 years of experience, he spent half of them in China, where he learned the basics of becoming a “true banker.”

The thought of working in a foreign country was “daunting” to say the least to a man born and raised in Miryang, South Gyeongsang Province, all his life.

But the company's decision to send him there was a priceless experience through which he learned how to turn a “crisis” into a success.

Traveling hundreds of kilometers just to talk to a potential client was a normal part of the day's work, which he said was demanding at the time but highly rewarding in hindsight.

All those experiences helped him in 2014 when he became a head of a bank's corporate entity in China.

“Previous work including corporate client management, retail business and risk management are all knowledge to understand overall operation of what makes a bank tick. He knows them well because he had done them himself,” a KEB Hana official said.

Shinhan Bank CEO Jin Ok-dong

Ji spent most his time in the field, a reason the colleges including junior workers call him “field commander”, a nickname he takes pride to have “earned.”

He said his experience will help a growing numbers of foreign investors seeking business opportunities here.

“A growing number of Korean firms are seeking to expand overseas business or gain a foothold there. But they are not getting the help they need,” Ji said in a statement provided by the bank.

“The situation is similar with foreign customers seeking to enter the Korean market. I believe my years of experience can effectively meet the need of the both.”

He is expected to lead an aggressive business move to achieve “Vision 2540,” under which the bank will seek to increase the net income derived from overseas profit to 40 percent from the current 13 percent by 2025.

Shinhan Bank CEO Jin Ok-dong is best described as a man who knows the ins and outs of how banks work in Japan, where he spent over half of his 38 years in the business.

His promotion to the position of bank vice president without serving as an assistant vice president came in recognition of his successful management of Shinhan Bank Japan (SBJ), the bank's corporate entity in Japan.

Woori Financial Group Chairman Sohn Tae-seung

Shinhan Financial Group said Jin is an optimal figure to help the bank achieve “Vision 2020.”

In a move to boost nonbanking and global operations, the bank seeks to make 20 percent of its profit through overseas operations, an attainable goal given the 14.5 percent profit garnered in the first half of 2018, according the bank.

Woori Financial Group Chairman Sohn Tae-seung is known for his perfect command of English, indicated by his reputation that he is “the only” bank CEO who never needs a translator with professional knowledge in finance.

He is able to fully communicate himself with foreign investors and able to take questions and answers without any problem to the point where language is not a barrier but more of a tool he feels comfortable using.

Sohn headed the bank's global business and the bank's branch in Los Angeles, the U.S., before becoming the CEO.