Shin Hak-ki, Suhyup Bank Chief, Seeks First Consecutive Term on Strong Results; Fate of Five Recommendation Committee Votes in Focus

[Financial News] Competition for the next president of Suhyup Bank is heating up. The main question is whether President Shin Hak-ki can secure another term on the strength of his management performance during his tenure. If he succeeds, Shin will become the first Suhyup Bank president to serve consecutive terms since the bank was launched as a separate entity from the credit business division of the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives in 2016.
According to financial industry sources on the 7th, the Suhyup Bank CEO Recommendation Committee will select and notify interview candidates on the 9th and conduct interviews on the 21st. It will then choose the final recommended candidate on the 22nd. The next president is expected to be appointed in October after approval by the boards of Suhyup Bank and the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives, followed by a resolution at Suhyup Bank’s shareholders’ meeting. President Shin’s term runs through November 17.
Six people applied for the open recruitment. They include three internal candidates—Shin Hak-ki and former deputy presidents Jung Cheol-kyun and Park Yang-soo—and three external candidates, including Lee Hyung-joo, head of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), and former Chung-Ang University professor Kang Cheol-seung. With the incumbent president and a senior financial regulator entering the race at the same time, the contest has taken shape around management continuity offered by internal candidates versus the expertise of external candidates.
Shin’s clearest advantage is his management performance during his tenure. Suhyup Bank’s total assets rose by 6.7 trillion won, or 10.6%, from 63.3 trillion won at the end of last year to 70 trillion won in the first half of this year, surpassing the 70 trillion won mark for the first time. Pretax net profit reached 312.9 billion won last year, followed by 98.6 billion won in the first quarter and 203.4 billion won in the first half of this year.
Some observers also cite the establishment of a foundation for medium- and long-term growth, beyond the bank’s expansion in scale, as a reason to support Shin’s reappointment. In September last year, Suhyup Bank acquired Trinity Asset Management and relaunched it as Suhyup Asset Management. It was the bank’s first acquisition of a subsidiary, and the results are becoming visible. Suhyup Asset Management’s assets under management (AUM) grew from about 150 billion won at the time of the acquisition to 3.1 trillion won in June this year.
The influence of external candidates is another key variable. Lee Hyung-joo, in particular, is drawing attention because he is a sitting senior financial regulator. As head of the FIU, he has managed and supervised financial institutions’ anti-money-laundering operations, giving him experience in financial policy and supervision.
However, some observers say the controversy over a so-called “parachute appointment” in the recent selection of Suhyup Bank’s standing auditor could weigh on external candidates. In March, Suhyup Bank appointed Choi Ki-jung, a former co-CEO of Dayton and a former senior official at the Board of Audit and Inspection, as standing auditor. The appointment sparked controversy after it became known that Choi had entered Chung-Ang University’s law department in 1982, making him a university classmate of President Lee Jae Myung.
The recommendation committee consists of five members: one outside director recommended by each of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, and the Financial Services Commission, plus two representatives recommended by the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives. Recommending a bank president requires the support of at least two-thirds of the committee’s sitting members, meaning that four votes are effectively necessary.
“The biggest question is whether President Shin, who can point to strong results and management continuity, will secure support from both the government and the federation to make history as the first president to serve consecutive terms, or whether an external candidate will take over as the new leader,” a financial industry official said.
[email protected] Seo Ji-yoon Reporter