Hwang Byung-woo Officially Inaugurated as Chairman of DGB Financial Group
The regular shareholders' meetings of regional financial holding companies have concluded. The JB Financial Group shareholders' meeting, which attracted the most attention due to a fierce challenge from activist funds, resulted in a 'half victory' for both sides. DGB Financial Group, with the newly appointed Chairman Hwang Byung-woo, plans to accelerate the transition of Daegu Bank into a commercial bank.
On the 28th, Align Partners Asset Management, the second-largest shareholder of JB Financial Group, succeeded in placing two outside director candidates on the JB Financial board through shareholder proposals and recommendations. At the regular shareholders' meeting held that day, Kim Ki-seok, Lee Hee-seung, Lee Myung-sang, and Kim Woo-jin were appointed as outside directors. Among them, the candidates recommended by Align Partners were Kim Ki-seok and Lee Hee-seung, who ranked first and second in the voting, respectively. This is the first time that candidates recommended by an activist fund have been appointed as outside directors of a financial holding company.
However, the proposal by Align Partners to increase the number of non-executive directors was rejected. Additionally, none of the candidates proposed by Align Partners were appointed as outside directors serving as audit committee members.
Analysts attribute Align Partners' progress to the 'cumulative voting system' applied during the director appointment vote. This system grants shareholders as many votes as the number of directors to be elected per share they hold.
Align Partners, the second-largest shareholder of JB Financial, began demanding a reorganization of the outside director lineup in January by recommending one non-executive director and three outside directors. JB Financial expressed refusal to recommend any candidates other than those proposed by Align Partners while increasing the number of board members. In response, Align Partners escalated pressure by filing injunctions with the court to appoint an inspector and to prohibit the exercise of voting rights by fintech company Finda. The Jeonju District Court accepted all these requests.
In the case of DGB Financial Group, Chairman Hwang Byung-woo officially took office. Ahead of Daegu Bank's transition to a commercial bank, he expressed his ambition to unite the group's capabilities by emphasizing a 'DGB-only business model.'
Regarding Daegu Bank's transition to a commercial bank, he stressed, "It is important to create a new positioning as the most regional nationwide bank while exploring ways to achieve group synergy. It is crucial to consolidate the group's capabilities together with the transition to a commercial bank across customer, product, and channel areas."
Meanwhile, BNK Financial Group held its regular shareholders' meeting on the 22nd, approving last year's financial statements and deciding on a cash dividend. The dividend was set at 510 KRW per share. The articles of incorporation were amended to add the 'Subsidiary CEO Candidate Recommendation Committee' as an official committee. Bin Dae-in, Chairman of BNK Financial Group, announced plans to strengthen shareholder return policies by improving the common equity tier 1 ratio to over 12% through changes in the asset portfolio this year.
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