Jin Ok-dong Appointed as Next CEO and Chairman of Shinhan Financial Group (Comprehensive)

Chairman Cho Yong-byeong Decides to Step Down Due to Generational Change and Other Reasons... Board Unanimously Approves Decision

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yu Je-hoon] Jin Ok-dong, president of Shinhan Bank, has been nominated as the next CEO and chairman of Shinhan Financial Group. Cho Yong-byeong, chairman of Shinhan Financial Group, who was initially expected to serve a third term, made a sudden decision to step down citing reasons such as generational change.

The Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Candidate Recommendation Committee held a meeting on the morning of the 8th at the headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul, and announced that they recommended candidate Jin as the next CEO and chairman. Jin is expected to be finalized as the candidate after the consecutive board meetings held that day, and will begin his term as chairman following the regular shareholders' meeting scheduled for March next year.

The Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Recommendation Committee has been narrowing down the pool of candidates through several meetings since early last month. At the meeting on this day, they comprehensively verified the management performance, capabilities, and qualification suitability of the shortlisted candidates, reviewed the reputation inquiry results from external professional institutions, and then conducted in-depth interviews with the candidates. The final interview was attended by President Jin, Chairman Cho, and Lim Young-jin, CEO of Shinhan Card, who were among the shortlisted candidates.

The in-depth interviews and the final candidate selection vote were conducted in an expanded recommendation committee format involving all outside directors. Amid Chairman Cho’s sudden decision to step down, the vote by all outside directors resulted in a unanimous selection of President Jin as the next CEO and chairman candidate for a three-year term.

The recommendation committee cited Jin’s experience and expertise accumulated through his roles as head of SBJ Bank, vice president of Shinhan Financial Group, and president of Shinhan Bank as reasons for recommending him as CEO and chairman. They noted that he possesses the insight, organizational management skills, and integrity required for the position. In particular, over the past four years as president of Shinhan Bank, he has solidified the bank’s status as a leading bank and established a foundation for continuous performance creation. They also highlighted his management ability to achieve record-breaking results consecutively and his crisis management skills demonstrated during the COVID-19 crisis.

Seong Jae-ho, chairman of the recommendation committee, held a press conference that day and said, "The recommendation committee has broadly explored and deliberated on about 50 diverse leaders both inside and outside the group from a zero base over the past month to recommend the most suitable candidate. The most important factor in this process was agreeing that the candidate who can flexibly respond to an uncertain future with leadership should be the next chairman of Shinhan Financial Group, and we decided to recommend President Jin."