Recommendation of Final Candidates for Next Woori Bank President Postponed Due to 'DLF Heavy Sanctions' Impact

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyo-jin] The selection process for the next Woori Bank CEO under Woori Financial Group has been put on hold.

On the 31st, Woori Financial stated in a press release, "According to the discussion results of the Group Executive Candidate Recommendation Committee, the schedule for recommending the Woori Bank CEO will be reconsidered."

The Group Executive Candidate Recommendation Committee held a meeting that morning and made this decision. Woori Financial explained that this decision was made in consideration of the "new changing circumstances."

The "new changing circumstances" appear to refer to the situation where the Financial Supervisory Service's Disciplinary Committee decided on a severe disciplinary action (official warning) against Sohn Tae-seung, Chairman of Woori Financial Group and CEO of Woori Bank, in relation to the "DLF incident," causing obstacles to Sohn's reappointment. Sohn serves as the chairman of the Group Executive Candidate Recommendation Committee.

If an executive of a financial company receives a disciplinary sanction corresponding to a severe penalty, they can complete their remaining term but will be restricted from employment in financial companies for 3 to 5 years thereafter. Last month, Woori Financial recommended Sohn as the next chairman for a three-year term. Sohn was scheduled to be officially appointed at the shareholders' meeting in March.

Additionally, last month Woori Financial decided to separate the roles of Group Chairman and Woori Bank CEO.

Accordingly, on the 29th, the Group Executive Candidate Recommendation Committee conducted in-depth interviews with three candidates: Kwon Kwang-seok, CEO of the Credit Guarantee Division at the National Credit Union Federation of Korea; Kim Jeong-gi, Head of Woori Bank's Sales Support Division and HR Group Division (Deputy CEO); and Lee Dong-yeon, CEO of Woori FIS.

The Group Executive Candidate Recommendation Committee had planned to select and recommend the final candidate as early as today.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.