[비즈한국] A wave of personnel changes is sweeping through the credit card industry. More than half of the seven specialized credit card companies (KB Kookmin Card, Lotte, Samsung, Shinhan, Woori, Hana, and Hyundai) have replaced their CEOs. Notably, these reshuffles are drawing attention because they are unrelated to the performance achieved during their tenures. The movement started with the industry's top-tier companies (KB Kookmin, Shinhan, and Samsung), which are trending toward appointing new leaders rather than reappointing existing ones. With the top players leading the shake-up, eyes are on whether lower-tier card companies will also embark on reforms through personnel changes.
Top Card Companies Replace CEOs One After Another; Shinhan Card Determined to Keep Top Spot
Samsung Card029780 recommended Kim Yi-tae, CEO of Samsung Venture Investment, as its new CEO during an executive candidate recommendation committee meeting on November 29. Kim Yi-tae previously served as the head of the International Finance Division at the Ministry of Economy and Finance before joining Samsung Electronics005930 in 2016. The appointment came even though current Samsung Card CEO Kim Dae-hwan had over a year left in his term following his reappointment in March 2023. Given that Samsung Card maintained profit growth under CEO Kim's leadership since 2020, the move was seen as unexpected. The new CEO-designate Kim Yi-tae will take office following a shareholders' meeting in March 2025.
Other industry leaders, Shinhan Card and KB Kookmin Card, also replaced their CEOs. On the 5th, the CEO candidate recommendation committee for Shinhan Financial Group’s subsidiaries announced candidates for nine subsidiaries. At Shinhan Card, instead of reappointing President Moon Dong-kwon, whose term ends this year, Park Chang-hoon, a division head, was selected as the new president. It is an unconventional move for a division-level executive who has not served as a vice president to be promoted directly to president.
Shinhan Financial Group explained why it did not reappoint President Moon despite Shinhan Card being the industry leader: "To enhance corporate value based on improved group profitability, expanding Shinhan Card’s performance is essential. While it maintains the number one spot in the credit card industry, the gap with the second-tier players has narrowed, and it is evaluated as lacking distinct growth momentum."
On the 6th, the CEO candidate recommendation committee for KB Financial105560 Group recommended new CEOs for KB Kookmin Card, KB Life Insurance, and KB Data Systems. Although there were expectations that current KB Kookmin Card CEO Lee Chang-kwon would be reappointed, the committee chose Kim Jae-kwan, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of KB Financial Group, as the new face. CFO Kim previously served as the manager of KB Kookmin Bank’s Yangju Techno branch, head of the Corporate Products Department, and Deputy President of the Management Planning Group.
Fierce Competition to Escape Lower Ranks... Shift in Rankings Expected
Among the lower-tier card companies (Lotte, Woori, and Hana), Hana Card was the first to implement personnel changes. Hana Financial Group086790 announced CEO candidates for its major affiliates through its group committee on the 12th. As current Hana Card President Lee Ho-sung was nominated as the candidate for the next President of Hana Bank, Hana Card will also be welcoming a new leader.
Succeeding President Lee at the helm of Hana Card is Seong Young-soo, Deputy President of Hana Bank. Deputy President Seong currently serves as the head of Hana Bank’s Corporate Group and head of the CIB division at Hana Financial Group. Previously, he served as head of the Gyeonggi Sales Headquarters, head of the Foreign Exchange Business Division, and head of the CIB Group at Hana Bank. He was recommended as the new CEO candidate for his recognized expertise in corporate banking and foreign exchange at Hana Bank. This aligns with Hana Card's growth driven by corporate finance (corporate cards) and its travel-specialized service, 'Travelog'.
Excluding BC Card, which focuses on issuing services, Hana Card—long considered the industry bottom-dweller—is aiming to climb the rankings. This year, it saw significant earnings growth due to the success of 'Travelog' and an increase in corporate card usage. Hana Card’s cumulative net profit for the third quarter was 184.4 billion KRW, a 45% increase compared to the same period last year (127.4 billion KRW). In the first half of this year, it recorded the highest net profit growth rate among financial group-affiliated card companies at 61% (72.6 billion KRW to 116.6 billion KRW) and maintained that growth trend in the second half.
Along with Hana Card, attention is also on whether Woori Card, which has also occupied the lower tiers, will reappoint its CEO. The term of Woori Card CEO Park Wan-sik, who took office in March 2023, ends this year. Woori Financial Group has not yet announced its subsidiary personnel changes.
2025 is also a critical year for Woori Card. As the industry's 6th largest company by usage, Woori Card experienced a downturn following last year's results (-45% net profit year-over-year) and a negative trend in the first quarter of this year (-37%), but it successfully managed to turn toward growth thereafter. Woori Card's net profit for the first half of 2024 was 83.8 billion KRW, a 2.3% increase compared to the same period last year (81.9 billion KRW), thanks to a 51% growth rate in the second quarter. The third quarter alone (56 billion KRW) was also 56% higher than the same period last year (36 billion KRW). While it has successfully rebounded, it is difficult to be complacent as Hana Card is closely trailing in market share.
After CEO Park Wan-sik took office, Woori Card achieved a long-held ambition in July 2023 by breaking away from BC Card and launching its own independent payment network. As the goal is to strengthen core competitiveness and achieve continuous growth, the key in 2025 will be to increase independent merchants and secure cardholders. Currently, it is sailing smoothly, with its independent card 'Card of the Standard' reaching 4 million issuances as of late October, raising questions about whether this will influence CEO Park's reappointment.
An industry official stated, "With leadership changes occurring during the planning period for next year's business, frontline departments are quite busy. The credit card industry is heavily influenced by the economy. Business only thrives when consumer sentiment recovers." The official added, "It seems companies are making proactive personnel changes due to the outlook that the economy will remain unstable next year, given the persistent 'three-high' phenomena (high interest rates, high inflation, high exchange rates) affecting households and increased volatility following the US presidential election in November."