BNK Financial Group has launched what it calls a governance improvement project.
The board of directors of BNK Financial Group (Chairman Bin Daein) announced on January 15 that it held a shareholder meeting, discussed key shareholders' proposals for governance reform, and reached a consensus on the direction for future improvements.
This meeting was organized in response to recent concerns raised by regulatory authorities regarding the group CEO succession process, as well as to proactively address demands from major shareholders for enhanced board independence and oversight functions.
According to BNK Financial Group, the board chair and outside directors attended the meeting in person, responded to shareholders' questions, and engaged in open discussions about the direction of governance reform.
The main topics proposed by key shareholders and discussed in depth included: the official introduction of a public nomination system (procedure) for outside directors; efforts to ensure that a majority of outside directors are nominated by shareholders; constituting the Executive Candidate Recommendation Committee entirely of outside directors; and accepting public nominations for outside director candidates through the company website. The board stated that it shares the shareholders' views on governance renewal and will positively consider these suggestions.
Additionally, as various improvement measures are expected to be proposed by the financial authorities' governance reform task force, the board agreed to prioritize these recommendations in order to advance BNK Financial Group's governance to a more advanced level.
BNK Financial Group will publish the directions for governance reform discussed at this meeting on its website. To ensure effective implementation, the company will accept outside director nominations through its website until January 30 and plans to strengthen fairness in the selection process.
Publicly nominated outside director candidates will be reviewed by the Executive Candidate Recommendation Committee, which will respect shareholders' intentions and assess the candidates for expertise and independence. Final nominees to be put forward as agenda items at the general shareholders' meeting will be transparently disclosed.
A BNK Financial Group representative stated, "This shareholder meeting demonstrates the board's commitment to prioritizing shareholder value by engaging in multifaceted discussions on governance reform together with shareholders," and added, "In addition to the matters discussed, we will take the lead in implementing the forthcoming recommendations from the governance reform task force, marking the starting point for governance innovation."
The market expects that this move by BNK Financial Group will resolve governance-related risks and serve as a decisive opportunity for the company to be re-evaluated for its corporate value (Value-up).
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