Woori Bank CEO's hangs in the balance as group reviews subsidiary chiefs

Woori Bank CEO Cho Byung-kyu faces an uncertain future with his ending on Dec. 31 while his firm is embroiled in major loan scandals.

Woori Bank CEO Cho Byung-kyu attends a conference in central Seoul on June 19 following the uncovering of a major embezzlement case. [YONHAP]

Woori Financial Group kicked off its CEO selection process for its seven subsidiaries including Woori Bank, which is under scrutiny over recent loan scandals, along with four other major commercial banks in Korea whose chief executives are facing the end of their terms.

Bank CEOs in Korea typically serve an initial term of two years, and subsequent terms are extended by one year. The incumbent CEOs of Shinhan Bank, Hana Bank, NH Woori Bank and Nonghyup Bank are approaching the end of their first two-year terms on Dec. 31, while KB Kookmin Bank CEO Lee Jae-keun is set to complete his second one-year term.

Among them, the chief in the most precarious position is Woori Bank CEO Cho Byung-kyu, who took the helm last July following his predecessor’s resignation.

Woori Financial Group held a subsidiary CEO nomination committee meeting on Friday to begin the screening process for chief executive candidates at its seven subsidiaries including its flagship Woori Bank. Details on the timeline, including the announcement of the initial list of candidates, is yet to be released.

Woori Bank, as well as Woori Financial Group, has been facing mounting pressure from financial authorities to hold top executives accountable for recent major loan scandals.

“As the Financial Services Commission (FSC) chief, I am deeply concerned with the repeated financial incidents at Woori Bank and Woori Financial Group,” said FSC Chairman Kim Byoung-hwan during a press conference on Sept. 12, but added, “Though there have been a lot of discussions going around regarding the leadership, I believe it is a decision that needs to be made by [Woori’s] board of directors.“

Meanwhile, Suhyup Bank’s CEO selection committee nominated Shin Hark-gie as the final candidate for the top post on Sept. 24. The board of directors at Standard Chartered Bank Korea approved Lee Kwang-hee as the next CEO on Friday, and he will begin his term on Jan. 8.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]