NH Investment & Securities Decides to Cancel Treasury Shares for the First Time in 13 Years...500 Billion KRW Scale

At the Regular Board Meeting, Vice President Yoon Byung-woon Selected as Final Candidate for New CEO

Byungwoon Yoon, Vice President, NH Investment & Securities

NH Investment & Securities announced on the 12th that it held a regular board meeting on the 11th and selected Yoon Byung-woon, Vice President of the IB Business Division, as the final candidate for the new CEO. Professors Min Seung-gyu of Sejong University and Kang Ju-young of Ajou University were appointed as new outside directors, while outside director Park Hae-sik and full-time auditor Lee Bo-won were reappointed. Additionally, the company decided on treasury stock cancellation and dividend payments to strengthen its shareholder return policy.

Yoon Byung-woon, appointed as the new CEO candidate, was born in 1967 and graduated from Yeongdeungpo High School in Seoul and Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. He joined LG Investment & Securities, the predecessor of NH Investment & Securities, in 1993 and has built a substantial career in corporate finance, serving as head of the Corporate Finance Team, head of the Coverage Headquarters, and head of the IB Business Division. Yoon is recognized as a self-made figure who rose from a regular employee to head of a business division, earning strong internal trust and making significant contributions to NH Investment & Securities' emergence as a leading IB firm.

Professor Min Seung-gyu, selected as a new outside director candidate, holds a bachelor's degree in Agricultural Economics from Dongguk University and a master's and doctorate in Agricultural Economics from the University of Tokyo, Japan. He is an expert in the domestic agricultural economics field, having served as the 1st Vice Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Administrator of the Rural Development Administration, and Vice President of Samsung Economic Research Institute. It is expected that he will contribute to the management activities of NH Investment & Securities, which is a subsidiary of the NongHyup Group and a listed company in the capital market.

Professor Kang Ju-young holds a bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering from Pohang University of Science and Technology, a master's degree in Computer Engineering from Seoul National University, and a master's degree in Management Engineering from KAIST. He has served as the editor-in-chief of the Korea Big Data Society and vice president of the Korea Intelligent Information Systems Society and is currently a professor in the e-Business Department at Ajou University. He is a digital business expert expected to contribute to enhancing the digital financial competitiveness of NH Investment & Securities, a leader in digital finance.

NH Investment & Securities decided to repurchase and cancel approximately 4.17 million common shares, amounting to about 50 billion KRW. This is the first treasury stock repurchase in 13 years since the 30 billion KRW repurchase in 2011 aimed at enhancing shareholder value and rewarding employees. The scale of this treasury stock repurchase and cancellation corresponds to about 50% of the net income for 2023 (separate basis), which increased compared to 2022. NH Investment & Securities recorded a net income of 435 billion KRW in 2023, an increase of approximately 96.5 billion KRW from the previous year. The company plans to continue repurchasing and canceling treasury stock to enhance shareholder value, with the scale limited to within 50% of the resources remaining after deducting cash dividends and legal reserves from net income.

Cash dividends are set at 800 KRW per common share and 850 KRW per preferred share, totaling approximately 280.8 billion KRW. This represents about a 14% increase from 245.8 billion KRW the previous year, with a dividend payout ratio of about 65% of net income (separate basis of 435 billion KRW), maintaining a higher level compared to major securities firms' payout ratios (30-40%). The total amount of treasury stock cancellation and dividends is about 330.8 billion KRW, with a shareholder return ratio reaching approximately 76% of net income.

An NH Investment & Securities official stated, "This decision is a proactive measure aligned with government financial policies such as shareholder value enhancement and corporate value-up programs through strengthening shareholder return policies. We will take the lead in improving the capital market structure as an industry-leading securities firm."

The 57th regular general shareholders' meeting is scheduled for the 27th, and the dividend record date is the 29th. Shareholders must hold NH Investment & Securities shares on the dividend record date to receive dividends.