[비즈한국] The influence of activist funds over regional financial holding companies is growing. They are actively involved in management through shareholder activism, such as voicing opposition to chairman appointment processes or installing recommended candidates as outside directors. Recently, Align Partners Capital Management has become the largest single shareholder of JB Financial Group175330, while BNK Financial Group is drawing market attention by fully accepting shareholder proposals, including those from Life Asset Management, to adopt an outside director recommendation system.
Samyang Corporation, the largest shareholder of JB Financial Group, disclosed on January 27 that it had sold 230,000 shares of JB Financial at 24,300 won per share. The reason for the change was a shift in ownership percentage due to the cancellation of treasury shares. As JB Financial continuously purchased and retired treasury shares to boost corporate value, Samyang Corporation's stake increased to 14.98%. Under the Financial Holding Company Act, a single entity is permitted to hold up to 15% of a regional banking group.
Samyang Corporation holds its stake in JB Financial alongside special related parties, including the Sudang Foundation and Samyang Group Chairman Kim Yoon. As of October 2025, Samyang Corporation held a 14.88% stake in JB Financial. With the figure approaching 15%, the company lowered its stake to 14.86% through the sale. As of January 29, the stake was composed of 14.38% held by Samyang Corporation, 0.47% by the Sudang Foundation, and 0.01% by Chairman Kim Yoon.
The impact of the stake change fell on Align Partners, a major shareholder of JB Financial. As JB Financial retired treasury shares, Align’s stake, which was 14.46% in the third quarter of 2025, increased to 14.56% as of January 21. While the Samyang group remains the largest shareholder in aggregate, Align is the largest single shareholder if Samyang Corporation is viewed alone, excluding related parties (the Sudang Foundation and Chairman Kim Yoon).
Align Partners, led by CEO Lee Chang-hwan, is a prominent activist fund in the domestic capital market. It was launched in 2021 with the goal of resolving the "Korea Discount" by addressing conflicts of interest between controlling and minority shareholders and improving shareholder rights. Noting that JB Financial achieved the highest return on equity (13.7%) and net interest margin (2.91%) among domestic financial holding companies in 2021, Align acquired a 14.0% stake in JB Financial Group in 2022 for 248.2 billion won (9,000 won per share).
With Align becoming the largest single shareholder, eyes are on the potential impact on JB Financial. In 2024, Align successfully placed two outside directors, Lee Hee-seung and Kim Ki-seok, on the JB Financial board through shareholder proposals and recommendations. Align had demanded the introduction of a shareholder nomination system before and after the 2023 annual general meeting, and after JB Financial adopted the system later that year, two Align-recommended candidates joined the board the following year. The terms of outside directors Lee Hee-seung and Kim Ki-seok run until the general shareholders' meeting in 2026. JB Financial accepted outside director nominations from shareholders until the end of December last year.
Another regional financial holding company, BNK Financial Group, is also facing active involvement from activist funds. In December 2025, Life Asset Management sent a shareholder letter to BNK Financial stating, "The current chairman appointment process lacks transparency and undermines its own procedural legitimacy," demanding an immediate halt to the process. Furthermore, it requested that the board of directors and the executive recommendation committee be completely restructured during the regular general meeting in March 2026, and that the chairman appointment process be restarted.
In fact, BNK Financial held a shareholder meeting on January 15 and announced it would introduce a system for public shareholder recommendations for outside directors. The meeting discussed issues including adopting the recommendation system, composing a majority of the board with shareholder-recommended outside directors, accepting recommendations publicly via the company website, and ensuring the executive recommendation committee is composed entirely of outside directors.
As discussed at the meeting, BNK Financial implemented the public recommendation system on January 15 and accepted candidates until January 30. According to the future schedule, the committee will verify candidates in February, and once the board of directors finalizes the outside director nominees at the end of February, they will be appointed at the regular general meeting in late March. This allows shareholder-recommended directors to be involved in the future chairman nomination process.
Behind BNK Financial's moves is pressure from financial authorities demanding improvements in corporate governance. When BNK Financial Chairman Bin Dae-in succeeded in his reappointment through a sole recommendation at the end of last year, the Financial Supervisory Service conducted an ad-hoc inspection to examine the appropriateness of the chairman appointment process. This is why BNK Financial explained the meeting as a "place prepared to reflect on concerns raised by financial authorities regarding the group's CEO succession process and to respond to shareholders' voices demanding the strengthening of the board's independence and check-and-balance functions."
Following the meeting, BNK Financial stated, "The fact that the board and shareholders discussed improvements to corporate governance from various angles shows that BNK Financial prioritizes shareholder value," adding, "We will become a starting point for governance innovation," demonstrating its commitment to expanding the role of shareholders and restructuring.
Life Asset Management stated in a statement under the names of CEOs Nam Doo-woo and Kang Dae-kwon, "This is a matter that Life Asset Management has continuously requested for the improvement of BNK Financial's governance. We welcome the board's decision. We plan to recommend outside director candidates with expertise and independence by the end of January and complete the composition of the board through the regular general meeting in March so that the improvement plan leads to real change.".