Suhyup Bank chief selection fails for fourth consecutive time; Shin Hak-gi's term extended until successor is appointed

[Financial News] The committee tasked with selecting the next president of Suhyup Bank failed to settle on a final candidate despite meeting four times. Committee members were unable to bridge their differences over incumbent president Shin Hak-gi and Lee Hyung-ju, head of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), but decided not to reopen the recruitment process.
The next meeting is to be held on the 1st of next month, after Shin's term expires. Although his term expires on the 17th, he can remain in the role until a successor is appointed.
According to financial-sector sources on the 11th, Suhyup Bank's president recommendation committee held its fourth meeting that day to discuss selecting the next bank president, but failed to finalize a candidate. Although reopening the recruitment process was also discussed, the members failed to reach agreement and decided to continue deliberations on the existing candidates.
Shin's term will therefore be automatically extended until the next bank president is decided upon and appointed. If Shin submits his resignation, the Suhyup Federation would appoint an acting chief, but Shin is reportedly expected to remain in the role.
The committee previously held its first meeting on September 22, its second on the 6th of last month, and its third on the 26th, but reached no conclusion at any of them. The votes were reportedly split 3-2 over the leading candidates, Shin and Lee, leaving neither with the four votes needed to be selected as the final candidate.
Suhyup Bank's president recommendation committee comprises five members: three recommended by the government and two by the Suhyup Federation. A candidate must receive at least four votes in favor to be selected as the final candidate.
There had been speculation that the committee would reopen the search if it failed to reach a conclusion at its fourth meeting that day, but no decision to do so was made. Reopening the recruitment process requires the unanimous agreement of all committee members.
With a fifth meeting scheduled for next month, after the current president's term ends, some observers say discussion of reopening the search is inevitable. The committee has previously decided to reopen the search after deliberations over existing candidates repeatedly stalled. In 2017, when the government and the Suhyup Federation clashed during the selection of the first president after Suhyup Bank split from and became independent of the federation, the committee conducted two rounds of reopened recruitment before appointing Lee Dong-bin. It also decided to reopen the search once each in 2020 and 2022. The only time it selected a successor without reopening the search was in 2024, when Shin was appointed.
There is a growing sense that reopening the search is needed to provide a reset, particularly as the appointment dispute spreads both inside and outside the organization. Earlier, 89 heads of fisheries cooperatives nationwide submitted a petition opposing the appointment of a candidate with a government background, and Suhyup Federation Chairman Nodongjin also publicly called for the search to be reopened.
Internal conflict within the union also surfaced. On the 4th, union chairman Lee Hae-hyeong called on both candidates, Shin Hak-gi and Lee Hyung-ju, to resign voluntarily, but vice chairman Yeom Eun-yeong issued a statement shortly afterward criticizing the chairman's unilateral action. The statement said that the call for the two candidates to resign was not the union's official position and that the union's executive committee opposed parachute appointments.
[email protected] Seo Ji-yoon Reporter