Where will Kang go — Woori, Shinhan or Hana?

By Kim Tong-hyung

The country’s biggest banking groups are bracing for sweeping changes to their corporate leadership that looks likely to take place in February. And it appears that the reshaping of the chief executive officer landscape will be pretty much determined by where President Lee Myung-bak’s closest but most controversial aide decides to collect his next paycheck.

According to sources, Woori, Shinhan and Hana financial groups are among the industry heavyweights that could appoint new chairmen by the end of next month, and there is also the possibility of the state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB) Financial Group bringing in new leadership as well.

Shinhan Financial Group is planning to complete its shortlist of candidates for its vacant chairman position by Saturday, while Woori Financial Group is expecting to launch a nomination committee Friday to choose its next chief.

It remains to be seen whether any of these high-profile seats will be saved for Kang Man-soo, former finance minister and currently a special advisor to the president on economic affairs, as rumors have him linked to Woori, Shinhan and Hana.

The 66-year-old, who resigned as minister of strategy and finance at the start of 2009, becomes eligible for a finance industry job next month, as Korean law bans former bureaucrats from seeking private-sector employment in industries influenced by their old jobs within two years of retirement.

Kang garnered mixed reviews for his performance as finance minister. His critics mostly slammed him for his foreign exchange policies in the earlier part of the financial crisis that were based on weakening the won to stimulate exports, which were then blamed for spiking inflation and deteriorating the economic turmoil by crippling the buying power of local companies.

With Kang thrown into the mix, the banking industry could be spun in a CEO merry-go-round. However, others believe that Woori Financial Chairman Lee Pal-seung and Hana Financial Chairman Kim Seung-yu, who also happen to be among President Lee’s close confidants, will likely be extending their stays at the helm.

Shinhan, which is just coming off an internal power struggle between former group Chairman Ra Eung-chan and now-departed executives Shin Sang-hoon and Lee Baek-soon, is another possible landing spot for Kang. However, it’s uncertain whether Kang will have the support of the group’s influential Korean-Japanese shareholders.

Woori Chairman Lee has been credited for keeping privatization talks alive at the country’s largest banking group, while Hana Chairman Kim is beaming after snatching a massive merger-and-acquisition (M&A) trophy in the Korea Exchange Bank (KEB). Both Lee and Kim’s current terms end in March, along with those of Woori Bank CEO Lee Chong-whi, Hana Group CEO Jong-yeol and Hana Bank CEO Kim Jung-tae.

Other possible candidates for Woori’s chairmanship include Lee Soon-woo, current Woori Bank vice president, Kim Hee-tae, director of the bank’s Chinese business division and the group’s former senior Vice President Kim Kyung-dong.

Interim Chairman Ryu Shi-yul looks to be in play for the top management spot at Shinhan, and aside of Kang, his possible competitors could include Shinhan Card Vice Chairman Hong Sung-kyun, Sogang University honorary professor Kim Myung-soo and National Pension Fund Chairman Jun Kwang-woo.