Hana Financial chief will likely extend term

Hana Financial Group Chairman Kim Jung-tai / Courtesy of Hana Financial Group

By Lee Min-hyung

Hana Financial Group headquarters in Seoul / Courtesy of Hana Financial Group

Hana Financial Group Chairman Kim Jung-tai will likely have his tenure extended next month, as the group needs to pursue stable growth amid uncertainties due to COVID-19. Kim's lack of legal risk also raises the likelihood for a potential fourth term.

The financial holding firm's chairman recommendation committee plans to draw up a shortlist by the end of February, and a possible new term for Kim is expected to be confirmed during the group's shareholders meeting slated for March.

Hana has yet to fix the specific timeline for the meeting, but chances are the committee will soon release an official statement regarding the shortlist.

“We have not confirmed when to announce the shortlist, but it will be done in the next couple of weeks,” a spokesman at Hana said Wednesday.

The committee is known to be considering 20 candidates for Hana's next chairman ― including the incumbent leader and two of the group's three vice chairmen ― Ham Young-joo and Lee Jin-kook.

The committee consists of eight financial experts ― mostly professors and leaders of the nation's financial industry. After a careful review of the candidates, it will make public the shortlist.

Kim started his first term as Hana chairman in March 2012, and succeeded in obtaining a third term in 2018.

But even if Kim serves a fourth, he can only work for one year due to his age. Hana maintains an internal rule that its chairman should be aged below 70, and Kim turned 69 this year.

Hana has to delay the schedule for finalizing the shortlist, as the two vice chairmen are faced with legal risks. Ham has been accused of allegedly overlooking hiring irregularities at Hana Bank while serving as chief of the lender.

In January, the Financial Supervisory Service also requested the prosecution investigate Lee over his alleged breach of the Capital Market Law.

The group typically announces the shortlist sometime in January, but the committee has had to delay the process this year due to the ongoing investigations into the two executives.

Kim was able to get two new successive terms over the past decade in recognition of his achievements in stably turning the company into one of the nation's big four banking groups.

Given the ongoing financial volatility here and abroad in the wake of the pandemic shock, the likelihood is growing that the committee will recommend him for the shortlist once again.

In a New Year address in January, the Hana chief picked digital transformation, overseas expansion and environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) management as the top three growth strategies for this year.

“Leaders of major financial firms here have been able to extend their terms this year amid lingering uncertainties in the financial market,” an industry source said. “Most companies chose stability over drastic changes during their year-end reshuffle amid the unexpected outbreak of the coronavirus. Under the current volatile market circumstances, leadership changes come as a burden for financial firms here.”