Financial Sector Annual General Meetings Kick Off... 'Woori Financial Group Chairman's Reappointment' Biggest Issue

DLF Disciplinary Injunction Application
If Granted, Reappointment at the General Meeting on the 25th

Shin Yong-byeong, Shinhan Financial Chairman,
Reappointment Decision at the General Meeting on the 26th

Samsung Life Insurance CEO Appointment Finalized
Jeon Yeong-muk and 2 Others as Inside Directors

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Finance Department] The shareholder meeting season for the financial sector, including the four major financial holding companies as well as insurance and card companies, has officially begun. This year, the industry’s attention is focused on the handling of major agenda items such as the appointment of outside directors, which could affect the reappointment of financial holding company chairpersons amid the worst adverse conditions, including the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and a decline in the benchmark interest rate.

According to the financial industry on the 19th, Samsung Life Insurance, Hanwha General Insurance, and Samsung Card held their shareholder meetings on this day and completed the appointment of new representatives.

At Samsung Life Insurance’s shareholder meeting, three new inside directors were appointed: President Jeon Young-mook, who took the helm in January; Yoo Ho-seok, Head of the Management Support Office (Vice President); and Hong Won-hak, Head of the FC (Financial Consultant) Sales Division 1 (Vice President).

Hanwha General Insurance also passed a resolution to appoint Kang Sung-soo, Executive Vice President of Business Operations, as the new CEO, and appointed former KEB Hana Bank Board Chairman Kim Joo-sung and former Shinhan Life Insurance CEO Lee Sung-rak as new outside directors.

Samsung Card appointed CEO Kim Dae-hwan and Yoo Ki-hong, Head of the Management Support Office, as inside directors. Additionally, the appointment of outside directors was approved for former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Economy Kwon Oh-kyu, former Public Procurement Service Commissioner Choi Kyu-yeon, Seoul National University Professor Lim Hye-ran, and former Deputy Governor of the Bank of Korea Kang Tae-soo.

Starting from the 20th of this month, the shareholder meetings of the four major financial holding companies will begin, led by KB Financial Group. At KB Financial’s shareholder meeting, a revision of the articles of incorporation to establish an ESG Committee is scheduled, and former Industrial Bank of Korea President Kwon Sun-joo and Chung-Ang University Professor Oh Kyu-taek are expected to be appointed as outside directors.

The ESG Committee emphasizes Environment, Social, and Governance factors in corporate activities and is used as an indicator to evaluate corporate sustainability. KB Financial is the first in the financial sector to establish an ESG Committee within its board of directors.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Hana Financial Group will also hold its shareholder meeting on the same day. It plans to reappoint all eight outside directors whose terms expire this month. Last month, Hana Financial Group amended its internal governance regulations to extend the term limit for outside directors from five years to a maximum of six years. Accordingly, Yoon Sung-bok, the current chairman of the Hana Financial Group Chairman Recommendation Committee, will retain his position as an outside director until next year.

The most attention-grabbing shareholder meeting this season is that of Woori Financial Group, scheduled for the 25th. The main agenda item is the reappointment of Chairman Sohn Tae-seung.

Chairman Sohn, who received a heavy disciplinary action over allegations of incomplete sales of overseas interest rate-linked derivative-linked funds (DLF), is awaiting the court’s decision on his injunction request to suspend the Financial Supervisory Service’s disciplinary action, expected sometime this week. If the injunction is granted, Chairman Sohn’s reappointment will be possible; however, if the request is dismissed and the disciplinary action remains effective, his reappointment will be canceled.

Woori Financial Group also included a revision of its articles of incorporation to establish an Internal Control Management Committee on the shareholder meeting agenda. This is the first case among financial holding companies, and the Internal Control Committee is expected to play a role in verifying internal control standards of affiliates and seeking improvement measures.

Shinhan Financial Group (Shinhan Holdings) will decide on Chairman Cho Yong-byeong’s reappointment at its shareholder meeting on the 26th. The appointment of new outside director candidates, Professor Yoon Jae-won of Hongik University and Jin Hyun-duk, CEO of Fedora, will also be processed. The world’s largest proxy advisory firm, ISS, has expressed opposition to the reappointment of the two financial holding company chairpersons, which may influence the shareholder meeting decisions.

Meanwhile, financial companies are taking thorough measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 ahead of their shareholder meetings. They have installed thermal imaging cameras at the meeting venues, conducted temperature checks with non-contact thermometers when verifying shareholder lists, and distributed masks to those not wearing them. Additionally, separate spaces have been prepared for shareholders showing symptoms to observe the meetings.

They also provide prior notice that entry may be restricted if suspicious symptoms are present and encourage the use of proxy voting systems that allow shareholders to exercise voting rights without attending the meetings in person.

A representative from a financial holding company said, "To prevent COVID-19 infection and transmission, we are guiding shareholders to use systems that allow voting rights to be exercised without direct attendance," adding, "We also plan to minimize the number of attendees as much as possible."

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