Sanghyuk Jeong Retained as Shinhan Bank CEO... CEOs of 9 Companies Including Card and Securities Replaced

Shinhan Financial Group on the 5th finalized the recommendation of CEO candidates for its subsidiaries. CEOs were retained at four affiliates including Shinhan Bank and Shinhan Life, while new CEOs were recommended for nine affiliates including Shinhan Card, Shinhan Investment Corp., Shinhan Capital, and Shinhan Savings Bank, resulting in a large-scale personnel reshuffle.

Shinhan Financial Group Holdings announced that it held a Subsidiary CEO Candidate Recommendation Committee meeting at its headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the same day to recommend candidates for subsidiary presidents. The appointment policy focused on ▲ improving organizational health through strong personnel reform ▲ accelerating consistent future strategy implementation by reappointing CEOs with proven management capabilities ▲ actively selecting next-generation leaders through generational change.

First, Shin Sang-hyuk, CEO of Shinhan Bank, was recommended for reappointment. His term is two years, breaking the usual practice of assigning one-year terms upon reappointment. Additionally, Lee Young-jong, CEO of Shinhan Life; Lee Seung-soo, CEO of Shinhan Asset Trust; and Kang Byung-kwan, CEO of Shinhan EZ Insurance, were also recommended for reappointment. Their terms are each one year.

Shinhan Financial explained, "CEO Jung demonstrated excellent management performance through steady asset growth, increased non-interest income, and global expansion, and led various innovations by driving organizational reform through stable soundness management and new attempts for future growth." It added, "He was highly evaluated for actively strengthening internal controls, including being the first in the financial sector to submit a responsibility structure chart."

Meanwhile, CEOs were replaced at nine other subsidiaries. At Shinhan Card, following the expiration of CEO Moon Dong-kwon's term, Park Chang-hoon, head of the division, was recommended as the new CEO. At Shinhan Investment Corp., Lee Sun-hoon, vice president, was newly recommended as CEO to succeed Kim Sang-tae, who resigned following a derivatives incident.

Shinhan Financial stated, "Although Shinhan Card maintains the number one position in the card industry, the gap with the second-ranked competitor has narrowed, and it has been evaluated as lacking differentiated growth momentum amid fierce competition across industries. Therefore, through CEO replacement, we focused on leading bold internal organizational reform and discovering new future growth engines." It added, "For Investment Corp., we recommended a successor CEO to manage the aftermath of the derivatives incident and improve organizational health."

In addition, Jeon Pil-hwan, vice president of Shinhan Bank, was newly appointed CEO of Shinhan Capital; Lee Hee-soo, CEO of Shinhan Savings Bank, was newly appointed to Jeju Bank; and Chae Soo-yong, head of a division at Shinhan Bank, was newly appointed CEO of Shinhan Savings Bank. Min Bok-ki, head of a division at Shinhan Bank, and Park Sun-bae, executive director of Woori Venture Partners, were newly recommended for Shinhan DS and venture investment, respectively.

Meanwhile, the CEO candidates recommended by the Subsidiary CEO Candidate Recommendation Committee will undergo verification of qualifications and suitability by each subsidiary’s Executive Candidate Recommendation Committee, and will be finally appointed by each company’s board of directors and shareholders’ meeting.

Chairman Jin Ok-dong quoted the proverb, "When the wind changes, adjust the sails," at the committee meeting, stating, "To flexibly respond to an uncertain future management environment, fundamental internal innovation, strong personnel reform, and generational change for organizational health improvement are urgent."