IBK, Subsidiary CEO External Recruitment... Yoon Jong-won's Experiment (Summary)

Subsidiary CEO Positions Requiring External Expertise Open for Applications... Review Scheduled After Second Half
Breaking the Tradition of 'Bank Deputy Head → Subsidiary CEO' to Enhance Competitiveness Through Change and Innovation

Yoon Jong-won, the new president of IBK Industrial Bank, is delivering his inaugural speech at the inauguration ceremony held on the 29th at the IBK headquarters in Euljiro, Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Haeyoung Kwon] Yoon Jong-won, President of IBK Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK), plans to recruit some subsidiary CEOs from outside the bank. Until now, IBK has never publicly recruited subsidiary CEOs. Breaking the convention where bank deputy presidents automatically move to subsidiary CEO positions, Yoon aims to bring in external experts for subsidiaries requiring specialized expertise, thereby enhancing the bank’s competitiveness.

According to financial circles on the 17th, President Yoon is considering a public recruitment plan for some IBK subsidiary CEOs.

A senior IBK official said, "This subsidiary CEO appointment is difficult, but after the second half of the year, we are considering external recruitment for some subsidiaries. For subsidiaries requiring external expertise, we plan to proceed with a public recruitment process to ensure fairness."

Currently, IBK has eight subsidiaries: IBK Capital, Pension Insurance, Savings Bank, Asset Management, Credit Information, Service, Investment Securities, and Systems. Except for IBK Credit Information, seven of the eight subsidiaries have CEOs who are former IBK deputy presidents or corporate heads. Until now, the official path was 'IBK Deputy President → Subsidiary CEO,' but President Yoon intends to appoint capable external professionals to positions requiring expertise.

The timing is expected to be after the second half of the year. There is not enough time to conduct public recruitment for subsidiary CEOs in the personnel reshuffle scheduled for the 20th. Among IBK subsidiaries, the CEO terms of IBK Investment Securities, Pension Insurance, Systems, Asset Management, and Credit Information have expired or will expire by the end of this month. Starting with IBK Service at the end of the year, the CEO terms of IBK Capital and Savings Bank will also expire sequentially early next year.

President Yoon’s consideration of hiring external CEOs is aimed at selecting experts where needed to enhance organizational capabilities and to bring change and innovation to the conservative, bank-centered organizational culture. To become a competitive comprehensive financial group, it is urgent to improve subsidiary competitiveness, which lags behind other financial holding companies. There is also a possibility of recruiting external personnel within the bank.

In his inaugural speech, he emphasized breaking the pure-blood system, saying, "Iron becomes stronger when mixed with other metals than when it is pure," and added, "We will create an organization full of change and vitality where diverse opinions are freely discussed and external expertise is sufficiently utilized when necessary."

Other financial holding companies are also expanding the recruitment of external experts for CEO and executive positions. Shinhan Financial Group appointed Sung Dae-gyu, a former bureaucrat and former head of the Insurance Development Institute, as CEO of Shinhan Life Insurance. Woori Financial Group also appointed external professionals such as Noh Jin-ho, former CEO of Hangul and Computer, as well as personnel from Samsung Securities and Daum Communications to holding company executive and department head positions. This reflects the judgment that survival is difficult with only the perspectives of existing bankers in the rapidly changing financial environment.

Meanwhile, President Yoon will conduct a bank executive personnel reshuffle on the 20th. The biggest focus is the IBK Executive Director (Senior Deputy President) position, with internal deputy presidents being considered candidates. Earlier, President Yoon repeatedly emphasized fairness and transparency in personnel matters, stating, "We will establish transparent and fair personnel standards and create a system where each employee is evaluated based on performance and capability. Requests through line-ups, school ties, or regional ties will be strictly dealt with according to laws and internal regulations and will definitely result in disadvantages." The subsidiary CEO appointments are expected around March, after the bank executive reshuffle. President Yoon is also considering reducing the number of executives in some subsidiaries.