No Decision Reached on Next Suhyup Bank President... Shin Hak-gi and Lee Hyung-joo in a Tight Two-Way Race

[Financial News] The selection of the final candidate for the next Suhyup Bank president has been postponed. The Bank President Recommendation Committee continued discussions over current Suhyup Bank President Shin Hak-gi and Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) chief Lee Hyung-joo, but failed to reach a final decision. Behind-the-scenes competition between the two candidates is therefore expected to continue.
According to financial industry sources on the 22nd, the Bank President Recommendation Committee held a meeting that afternoon to discuss selecting the next bank president, but failed to reach a conclusion. The committee plans to meet again after the Chuseok holiday to decide on the final candidate.
The committee consists of three outside directors recommended by the Ministry of Finance and Economy, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF), and the Financial Services Commission (FSC), as well as two members recommended by the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives. Selecting a bank president requires the approval of at least two-thirds of the committee's members, meaning at least four members must agree. The deadlock is believed to have occurred because neither Shin nor Lee secured support spanning both the government and the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives.
The committee interviewed all six applicants on the 21st, but the race effectively narrowed to a two-way contest between Shin and Lee. The two candidates have clearly different strengths, which is understood to have prevented the committee from reaching a consensus. 
Shin, who is seeking his first reappointment, can point to his management performance during his tenure as his greatest strength. Suhyup Bank's total assets exceeded 70 trillion won for the first time in the first half of this year. Pre-tax net profit surpassed 300 billion won last year and reached about 200 billion won in the first half of this year alone.
Laying the foundation for medium- and long-term growth is another achievement Shin can highlight. In September last year, Suhyup Bank acquired Trinity Asset Management and relaunched it as SUHYUP ASSET. It was Suhyup Bank's first acquisition of a subsidiary. SUHYUP ASSET's assets under management (AUM), which stood at about 150 billion won at the time of the acquisition, had grown to 3.1 trillion won by June this year.
Lee, his rival, is emphasizing his career in financial policy and supervision. As a sitting senior financial authority official, Lee has managed and supervised financial institutions' anti-money-laundering operations and other related activities as FIU chief. He is viewed as having a distinctive background as an outside candidate, given his deep understanding of financial authorities and the broader financial industry. Since three of the five committee members are government-side representatives, financial circles initially viewed the race as favoring Lee. However, Lee is known to have secured the support of only two government-side members at the meeting that day. 
Once the committee reaches a decision through an additional meeting, the next Suhyup Bank president will be formally appointed in October after votes by the Suhyup Bank board, the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives board, and the Suhyup Bank shareholders' meeting. Shin's term runs through November 17.
[email protected] Seo Ji-yoon Reporter