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| Woori Financial Group headquarters in Seoul / Yonhap |
By Lee Min-hyung
Woori Financial Group reportedly longlisted eight candidates for its next chairman, after incumbent Chairman Son Tae-seung expressed his intention of stepping down from the post at the end of his term.
According to sources in the financial industry, the candidates include five executives from within its ranks, and three other outside figures. Among them are Woori Bank CEO Lee Won-duk and former Financial Services Commission Chairman Lim Jong-ryong.
Other candidates also include Woori Card CEO Kim Jung-ki, Woori Financial Capital CEO Park Kyoung-hoon, Woori Financial Group President Park Hwa-jae, Woori America Bank CEO Shin Hyun-seok, former Woori FIS CEO Lee Dong-yeon and former Hana Financial Group Vice Chairman Kim Byung-ho.
The incumbent leaders of Woori Bank and Woori Card are considered favorites for the next leadership, as they have displayed a strong leadership styles as the top executives of the group's key affiliates.
All eyes have been on whether Son would be able to extend his chairmanship once again, but he ended up bowing out of the race amid growing pressure from financial authorities. The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) has in recent months stepped up its political pressure on Son, urging him to take responsibility for Woori Bank's troubled fund sales linked to Lime Asset Management.
Earlier, Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Cho Yong-byoung decided to resign from the post for a similar reason. In November, FSS Governor Lee Bok-hyun said he "respected" Cho's bold decision of taking responsibility for the incident. The remark, however, came as a big burden to Son who maintained his position of wishing to stay in office further.
But the Woori chief, who was promoted to become the group's chairman in December 2018, will leave the company in March after his term expires. "I will join the ongoing mood of the generational shift in the financial industry," he said in a statement.
"I expect our executive recommendation committee to appoint a qualified figure for the growth of the group."
After interviewing and conducting reference checks on the longlisted candidates, the committee will share a shortlist of two to three figures on Jan. 27.
Woori's next chairman will take office after receiving approval at a regular shareholders meeting slated for March.
The firm's union on Thursday issued a statement in protest against parachuting in an outside figure, particularly from the government.
"Lim insisted that autonomous management was key for Woori's privatization, and said that the firm's biggest stumbling block for growth was government intervention," the union said. "Such a former bureaucrat should not run for Woori's leadership."
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