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| Woori Financial Group Chairman Son Tae-seung / Courtesy of Woori Financial Group |
By Anna J. Park
Woori Financial Group Chairman Son Tae-seung has officially decided to wrap up his four-year term ending in March this year, and not to seek another term as group chief.
"Today, I'd like to say that I am also joining a generational shift movement that's been trending in the local financial industry," Son said in an official statement released Wednesday.
"I expect the board's executive recommendation committee to appoint a capable chairman who can lead the group's development based on the values of its complete privatization," the statement continued. He also thanked the group's customers and conveyed his hope for the group's continued success.
Earlier in the day, Son informed the board members of his intent not to run for another chairmanship term. The board has been working on making a long list of candidates for the group's next chairman, which is now expected to include 12 names.
Market watchers view that Son's decision not to seek another term was largely influenced by financial authorities' explicit pressure against him attempting to do so as well as his complicated legal battles.
In early 2021, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) issued a reprimand sanction to Son, holding him responsible for Woori Bank's mis-selling of problematic Lime Asset Management funds. The funds ended up wreaking havoc on retail customers, resulting in the suspension of redemption of about 1.7 trillion won ($1.36 billion) by November 2020. A reprimand sanction is considered a heavy punishment, as it bars punished CEOs from being hired at financial companies for three years.
The FSS had already reprimanded Son over another case of the financial group's mis-selling of high-risk derivative-linked funds (DLF) in 2019 while he was Woori Bank's CEO. Regarding the DLF sanction, Son won a final victory against the FSS, as the Supreme Court sided with him last December, repealing the effects of the FSS sanction. Yet, Son still has to fight his Lime Asset Management mis-selling sanction, and Woori Bank itself is also in a legal battle over FSS sanctions with regard to the Lime fiasco.
Amid this complexity, Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Kim Joo-hyun and Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) Governor Lee Bok-hyun have outwardly been pressuring the group, hinting that it should look for a new chairman without so many legal problems.
Last December, Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Cho Yong-byoung also decided not to seek another term, once his current one ends in March, aiming to concede the top position to a new generational leader. Cho's decision also seems to have affected Son's decision to concede his position.
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