Who is Jin Ok-dong, the New Head of Shinhan Financial Group?

Representative 'High School Graduate Legend and Japan Expert'... Contribution to Regaining Leading Bank Status

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Je-hoon] Jin Ok-dong, CEO of Shinhan Bank, has been nominated as the next CEO and Chairman candidate of Shinhan Financial Group, overturning initial expectations that Chairman Cho Yong-byeong would secure a third term.

The Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Candidate Recommendation Committee held a meeting on the morning of the 8th and announced that they decided to recommend CEO Jin as the next CEO and Chairman. Following the committee's decision, CEO Jin will serve a three-year term until 2026 after receiving approval at the regular shareholders' meeting in March next year.

Prior to this, the committee conducted interviews with the shortlisted candidates for CEO and Chairman: CEO Jin, Chairman Cho, and Shinhan Card President Lim Young-jin. Before the interview, CEO Jin told reporters, "I want to focus on what Shinhan Financial must do to become a 100-year company and on sustainable management," adding, "We need to pay equal attention and weight not only to financial aspects but also to non-financial aspects."

Chairman Cho, who was initially expected to secure a third term, reportedly expressed his intention to step down before the committee's secret vote, citing generational change and the future of Shinhan Financial.

Born in 1961, CEO Jin graduated from Deoksu Commercial High School, worked at Industrial Bank of Korea, and joined Shinhan Bank in 1986. He has held various positions including Branch Manager of Osaka Branch in Japan, President of SH Capital in Japan, CEO of SBJ, Vice President of Shinhan Bank, and Executive Vice President of Shinhan Financial Group. Since becoming CEO of Shinhan Bank in 2019, he has been reappointed once.

CEO Jin is also recognized as a leading 'Japan expert.' After serving as Deputy Manager and Manager of Shinhan Bank's Osaka Branch, he briefly left Shinhan Bank in 2004 to establish SH Capital, a corporate restructuring company in Japan. He later led the establishment of SBJ Bank. To this day, SBJ Bank, along with Citibank, is one of the only foreign banks licensed as a local corporation in Japan, and it accounts for 21% of Shinhan Bank's global revenue.

Since assuming the CEO position at Shinhan Bank, CEO Jin has delivered remarkable results. This year, he contributed to Shinhan Financial reclaiming its position as the 'leading bank' by generating a cumulative net profit of approximately 2.5 trillion KRW through the third quarter. Chairman Seong Jae-ho of the recommendation committee held a press conference that day, stating, "Since last month, the committee has broadly explored and deliberated on about 50 diverse leaders inside and outside the group from a zero base to recommend the most suitable candidate. Throughout this process, we agreed that the candidate must possess the ability and leadership to flexibly respond to an uncertain future, and thus decided to recommend CEO Jin."