[비즈한국] With the terms of their heads nearing expiration, major domestic financial holding companies are forming Chairman Recommendation Committees (CRCs). Shinhan Financial Group is the first to make a move, announcing that it began its management succession process for the next chairman at the end of September. Shinhan Financial Chairman Jin Ok-dong's term runs until March 2026. Amid speculation over whether the heads of domestic financial holding companies might change alongside political shifts, Chairman Jin is seen as having a high probability of reappointment, bolstered by a smooth relationship with the administration, including his recent accompaniment of President Lee Jae-myung on an overseas state visit.
Shinhan Financial began operating the CRC secretariat on September 26 and initiated the management succession process to recommend candidates for the next CEO and chairman. The committee held its first meeting on that day to discuss evaluation criteria for candidate recommendations. The CRC is chaired by Kwak Su-keun, Professor Emeritus at Seoul National University Business School, and consists of five outside directors, including the chairman.
According to Shinhan Financial, the CRC selects a pool of succession candidates regularly every year, and in the case of external candidates, it receives recommendations from professional agencies to ensure fairness. The final candidate is determined at a meeting attended by all outside directors, and the new chairman, selected following deliberation and resolution by the board of directors, will take office in March 2026.
Looking back at the 2022 chairman recommendation process that selected Chairman Jin Ok-dong, the CRC began meetings in early November and finalized the shortlist by the end of November. Following candidate interviews, Chairman Jin Ok-dong was selected as the final candidate in early December. As the committee began its operations more than a month earlier this year, there are predictions that the final candidate could be announced as early as November.
However, there is a possibility that the announcement of the final candidate may be delayed, as financial authorities have requested improvements in governance regarding the appointment and management succession processes of bank CEOs. In the 'Best Practices for Governance of Banking Holdings and Banks' announced in December 2023, authorities pointed out that compared to overseas, the evaluation and verification period for domestic bank and holding company CEO candidates is short, and the timing for initiating the succession process is late. The best practices specified principles, including starting the management succession process at least three months before the CEO's term expires and securing sufficient time for each stage of the process.
Accordingly, other financial holding companies nearing the end of their chairmen's terms are expected to follow suit and launch their own CRCs. Among the heads of major financial holding companies with commercial banks, Chairman Jin Ok-dong of Shinhan Financial, Chairman Im Jong-ryong of Woori Financial Group, Chairman Bin Dae-in of BNK Financial Group, and Chairman Yang Jong-hee of KB Financial105560 Group all have terms ending in 2026. Of these, only Chairman Yang's term expires in November of next year, while the terms of the other three chairmen run until March of next year.
Chairman Jin, who rose to the position of chairman after serving as a holding company vice president and bank president as an internal candidate, is widely expected to succeed in his bid for reappointment. His track record during his term is solid, having recorded the largest-ever performance in 2024 and the first half of 2025. While Shinhan Bank President Jung Sang-hyuk is also mentioned as a candidate for chairman, President Jung broke the usual custom of a one-year extension upon his reappointment late last year, receiving a two-year extension instead, which carries his term through the end of 2026.
Since taking office in 2023, Chairman Jin Ok-dong has continuously engaged in overseas investor relations (IR) sessions to focus on strengthening global business. This is to attract overseas investment and boost stock prices. This year, he toured Central Asia, including Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, in April, and Europe, including Germany, the UK, and Poland, in May. The efforts are showing results. The share of overseas business within Shinhan Financial Group increased from 12.6% in 2023 to 17.1% in 2024. Although it dipped slightly to 14.2% in the first half of 2025, the group's overseas profit reached 431.5 billion won, a 4.9% increase compared to the same period last year.
Attention is also focused on whether he will avoid a 'reshuffle' due to political changes. Chairman Jin appears to be actively aligning with the new administration, such as by accompanying President Lee Jae-myung on his U.S. visit for the UN General Assembly. On September 25 (local time), Chairman Jin Ok-dong attended the 'Korea Investment Summit' held at the New York Stock Exchange as a representative of the financial sector, alongside Hana Financial Chairman Ham Young-joo. This event was a venue where the Lee Jae-myung administration introduced Korean economic policies to attract overseas investment for the stock market. Chairman Jin has maintained a cordial relationship, having previously attended President Lee's inauguration ceremony.
He also avoided the crisis of being summoned to the government's first parliamentary audit. Contrary to expectations that Shinhan Financial would be a target for parliamentary audit discussions due to its entanglement as an investor in the so-called 'Kim Keon-hee butler gate,' it was excluded from the target list. No heads of major financial holding companies or commercial banks were selected as witnesses for this year's National Policy Committee parliamentary audit.
Meanwhile, Shinhan Financial stated that it has been preparing to foster chairman candidates for the past 4 to 5 months. A company official remarked, "We established procedures for a smooth management succession even before the financial authorities' best practices for governance were released," adding, "We are continuing to verify both internal and external candidates, including the current chairman."