Hamyungju, Chairman of Hana Financial Group, Wins Final Victory in 'DLF Disciplinary Cancellation Lawsuit'

Ham Young-joo, Chairman of Hana Financial Group.

Ham Young-joo, Chairman of Hana Financial Group, who received a heavy disciplinary action from financial authorities due to losses from overseas interest rate-linked derivative-linked funds (DLF), has won the final victory in an administrative lawsuit seeking cancellation of the disciplinary action.

According to financial and legal circles on the 25th, Chairman Ham received a final favorable ruling as the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal without further review in the DLF administrative lawsuit on the same day. Dismissal without further review is a system where the court rejects an appeal without additional examination if the case is deemed not subject to appeal.

The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) regarded the cause of the 2020 DLF loss incident as Hana Bank’s failure to properly establish an internal control system and issued a 'censure warning,' a heavy disciplinary action, to Chairman Ham, who was then serving as Hana Bank’s president. If a heavy disciplinary action is imposed by financial authorities, reemployment in the financial sector is prohibited for 3 to 5 years after the term ends. Chairman Ham’s side filed an administrative lawsuit against the FSS Governor and others, objecting to this.

In 2022, the Seoul Administrative Court ruled against Chairman Ham in the cancellation lawsuit. At that time, the court found that he violated 7 out of 10 detailed obligations related to the CEO’s duty to establish internal controls.

However, in the appeal trial for cancellation of the disciplinary action held last February, the court partially ruled in favor of the plaintiff. Regarding the violation of the obligation to establish internal control standards, one of the core disciplinary reasons, only 2 out of 8 detailed reasons were recognized. The Financial Services Commission and the FSS appealed against this decision, but the Supreme Court confirmed the plaintiff’s appeal dismissal without further review this time.

A Hana Financial Group official stated, "We express respect and gratitude for the Supreme Court’s judgment," adding, "We will continue to make our best efforts to ensure that the group’s internal controls operate more effectively."