Business · Companies · 1 hr ago
Suhyup Bank chief selection stalls as union demands committee change
Suhyup Bank’s committee has not agreed on a new chief after three meetings.
The bank’s current chief, Shin Hak-ki, is due to leave office on November 17, but the selection process is still unresolved.
The committee is split three to two between support for Shin and for Lee Hyeong-ju, head of South Korea’s Financial Intelligence Unit; four votes are needed to select a candidate.
The bank union is calling for all committee members to be replaced and for meeting records and voting procedures to be disclosed.
The committee has five members: three recommended by government bodies and two by Suhyup, a structure that dates to the bank’s receipt of public funds in 2001.
Suhyup repaid its public-fund obligations in 2022, but the government’s three seats remain, and lawmakers have questioned whether that balance is appropriate.
A leadership gap may follow if the committee cannot decide in time; no date has been set for its fourth meeting, and any candidate still needs approval from the bank and Suhyup’s boards and shareholders.
Suhyup Bank’s selection committee failed to choose a final candidate for chief at its third meeting on October 26.
The union called for all committee members to be replaced and for meeting records and voting procedures to be made public.
The committee’s five members are split between three government appointees and two representatives appointed by Suhyup.
Support for the two leading candidates reportedly stands at 3-2, below the four votes required to recommend a candidate.
The incumbent chief’s term ends on November 17, leaving time to complete the selection and approval process uncertain.
- Who
- Suhyup Bank’s chief selection committee and the Suhyup Central Association union are involved. The leading candidates are chief Shin Hak-ki and Financial Intelligence Unit chief Lee Hyung-joo.
- What
- The committee has not selected a final candidate, and the union is demanding that all committee members be replaced.
- When
- The committee’s third meeting was held on October 26. The incumbent chief’s term ends on November 17.
- Where
- Suhyup Bank, South Korea.
- Why
- The committee is deadlocked, with reported support split 3-2 and four votes required to recommend a candidate.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The committee held its first meeting but did not select a final candidate.
The committee held its second meeting without reaching a decision.
A parliamentary audit raised questions about the committee’s government-heavy composition.
The committee’s third meeting ended with reported support split 3-2 between the leading candidates.
The union called for all committee members to be replaced and the committee’s records and voting process to be disclosed.
- Committee composition
- 3 government-recommended members and 2 Suhyup-recommended members
- Votes required
- At least 4 of 5 committee members
- Reported split
- 3-2 between Shin Hak-ki and Lee Hyung-joo
- Incumbent’s term ends
- November 17
- Public funds repaid
- Suhyup repaid its public-fund obligations in 2022
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What people are saying
If the third selection committee meeting also failed to reach a conclusion, shouldn’t there be an effort to meet again the next day or, at the latest, the day after and reach a decision?
Repeating meetings while putting off a decision is difficult to avoid criticism as a failure to perform duties.
We should examine whether it is appropriate that, unlike other cooperative financial institutions, government recommendations account for 60% of Suhyup Bank’s committee.
After the accounting procedures related to public funds are completed at the end of 2027, there will be a need to change the structure.