Suhyup Bank Fails to Select Next President Candidate... Falls Short of ‘Four-Vote Barrier’

Current President Haekki Shin Secures 3 Votes, FIU Director Hyungjoo Lee Gets 2
President Recommendation Committee to Reconvene Next Month for Further Deliberation

The selection of the final candidate for the next president of Sh Suhyup Bank has failed. This comes as the race narrowed to a two-way contest between Haekki Shin, the current president of Suhyup Bank, and Hyungjoo Lee, head of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), but none of the five members of the President Recommendation Committee (PRC) received the required four votes of support.

According to the financial industry on September 22, the Suhyup Bank PRC convened around 1 p.m. on this day to discuss the final selection of the next bank president but could not reach a conclusion. Previously, on the prior day, the PRC conducted in-person interviews at a location in Seoul with six candidates who passed the document screening stage, including President Shin and Director Lee.

During the PRC vote on this day, a 3-to-2 split prevented the selection of the next president candidate. The PRC consists of three government-appointed external directors—Byungkyu Kim (recommendation from the Ministry of Economy and Finance), Kyungchul Park (recommendation from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries), and Hyungjoon Lim (recommendation from the Financial Services Commission)—and two representatives recommended by the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives: Gwangbok Song, head of the Buan Suhyup branch, and Seungman Jeong, head of the Gyeonggi Suhyup branch. A candidate must secure four votes to be finally chosen as the next bank president.

The recommendation committee of Suhyup Bank held a vote on the 22nd to select the next bank president candidate, but no candidate received more than 4 votes, so it was decided to reconsider the matter later. The voting results showed a two-way contest between Shin Hakgi, bank president with 3 votes (photo left), and Lee Hyungjoo, director of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), with 2 votes.

It is understood that President Shin secured a total of three votes, including one from a government-appointed committee member, thereby outperforming Director Lee. The PRC members who supported Shin reportedly rated highly his achievements during his term and his efforts to expand non-banking business operations. In the first half of this year, Suhyup Bank posted a pre-tax net profit of 203.4 billion won, up 3.6% compared to the same period last year, and total assets increased by 6.7 trillion won from the end of last year, reaching 70 trillion won. In the non-banking sector, Suhyup Bank acquired Trinity Asset Management in September last year and launched Sh Suhyup Asset Management; last month, the bank secured a 14.95% stake in digital asset custody company Infinitblock, becoming the joint second-largest shareholder. Recently, the bank signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to acquire Sangsangin Securities and is conducting due diligence.

The PRC members who supported Director Lee, a current high-ranking official, are said to have valued his deep understanding of financial policy and his experience coordinating among regulatory agencies. Director Lee passed the 39th civil service exam and previously served as Head of Financial Industry, Director General for Financial Policy, and Standing Commissioner at the Financial Services Commission. Suhyup Bank, as it plans to pursue the acquisition of non-banking affiliates—including the planned purchase of Sangsangin Securities—and a transition to a financial holding company, will need to undergo various regulatory reviews and obtain approvals from the financial authorities, such as the major shareholder eligibility review. However, as Director Lee is the incumbent head of the FIU, this may have worked against his candidacy due to the potential for post-public service employment reviews and conflicts of interest. The head of the FIU is classified as a member of the Senior Executive Service, subject to a three-year employment restriction, and if there is a close correlation between the duties performed at the FIU within the last five years and the organization seeking to hire him, approval from the relevant Public Officials Ethics Committee is required.

The PRC plans to begin a renewed round of discussions to select the final candidate for president without an additional open recruitment process. A financial industry official stated, "Since Suhyup Bank was spun off as a separate entity from the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives in 2016, there has never been a case, apart from the appointment of President Shin in 2022, where the selection process concluded in a single attempt. The process will be resumed after the Chuseok holiday, with additional discussions set to take place next month."

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