iM Financial Group Begins CEO Succession Process

[Financial News, Daegu = Kim Jang-wook] iM Financial Group has begun its CEO succession process.
iM Financial Holdings' Chairperson Candidate Recommendation Committee, hereinafter referred to as the committee, held a meeting on the 28th and decided to launch the process for selecting the next CEO.
The committee outlined four principles for selecting the CEO: ensuring procedural legitimacy and transparency; enhancing the diversity of the candidate pool and the fairness of evaluations; selecting a final candidate with the necessary qualifications and capabilities; and strengthening the independence of the Chairperson Candidate Recommendation Committee.
Cho Kang-rae, chair of the committee, said, "Based on consulting from external specialists, this succession process focuses on guaranteeing fair competition opportunities for internal and external candidates and enhancing objectivity and expertise by involving external experts in the evaluation process." He emphasized, "We will faithfully fulfill the committee's primary role through a sufficient verification period and transparent evaluations so that we can recommend the best candidate to lead the group's successful establishment as a commercial financial group and its sustainable growth."
The committee has formed and managed standing pools of internal and external candidates based on the CEO eligibility requirements disclosed in advance. For this succession process, it plans to provide internal and external candidates with fair opportunities to compete using standardized evaluation criteria.
Internal candidates have been continuously developed and managed through a standing management system, while external candidates have been identified broadly through multiple specialized search firms, significantly increasing the diversity of the candidate pool.
Regardless of the candidates' backgrounds or whether they currently hold positions, their professional expertise and management capabilities will be verified according to the same principles.
The committee's process consists of three stages: selecting a long list, selecting a short list, and selecting the final candidate.
In the first stage, the committee will verify candidates' qualifications and the essential capabilities required of a financial holding company CEO based on standardized applications, supporting documents, and reputation checks conducted by multiple specialized agencies.
In the second stage, independent directors and external experts will conduct in-depth evaluations of candidates' financial industry expertise, organizational and leadership capabilities, and strategic thinking.
During the final candidate selection stage, independent directors will first conduct focused interviews in each area. Candidates will then present and discuss the group's management direction for the next three years in a "3 Yrs. Visioning" session, enabling a comprehensive assessment of their readiness and suitability as CEO.
In particular, the committee plans to expand in-depth interviews during the short-list and final-candidate selection stages to closely assess each candidate's management philosophy, vision for the group's future, leadership, and management capabilities. Through this process, the committee will directly verify candidates' qualifications and capabilities and take a leading role through the recommendation of the final candidate.
The committee plans to select the long list in late October, finalize the short list by late November after conducting in-depth evaluations at each stage, and recommend the final candidate in December.
Before officially launching the process, iM Financial Holdings had prepared for the succession by disclosing the CEO eligibility requirements on the 20th of last month and forming and managing standing pools of internal and external candidates.
It also reviewed the succession system through consulting with external specialists and strengthened fairness and transparency throughout the succession process.

[email protected] Kim Jang-wook Reporter