Kim Kwang-soo Confirmed for Reappointment as Chairman of NH Nonghyup Financial Group... Term Set for One Year

Evaluation of 1 Trillion Club Performance for Two Consecutive Years

Kwangsoo Kim, Chairman of NH Nonghyup Financial Group

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Haeyoung] The reappointment of Kim Kwangsoo, Chairman of NH Nonghyup Financial Group, has been confirmed. This is the second time a Nonghyup Financial chairman has been reappointed since former Chairman Kim Yonghwan. Chairman Kim was expected to be reappointed without much opposition, having made it into the ‘1 trillion won club’ for two consecutive years and achieving the highest performance since the holding company’s launch last year.

The Nonghyup Financial Executive Candidate Recommendation Committee (Nomination Committee) conducted the final interview for the next chairman candidate on the morning of the 10th and confirmed Chairman Kim as the final candidate. This came one month after the committee began the chairman selection process on the 17th of last month. If the reappointment is finalized at the shareholders’ meeting in the afternoon, Chairman Kim, whose term expires on the 28th, will begin the second phase of Nonghyup. His term as chairman is one year.

Chairman Kim’s reappointment was based on strong performance. Nonghyup Financial posted net profits exceeding 1 trillion won for two consecutive years. Nonghyup Financial’s net profit increased from 859.8 billion won in 2017 to 1.2189 trillion won in 2018, when Chairman Kim took office, and 1.7796 trillion won in 2019. Last year, it achieved the highest net profit since the holding company’s establishment. This year, with the outlook for the financial industry darkening due to falling interest rates and the spread of COVID-19, the need for a CEO who understands Nonghyup Financial well to lead holding company-level responses and establish mid- to long-term survival strategies has strengthened support for Chairman Kim’s reappointment.

Chairman Kim is also focusing on expanding Nonghyup Financial’s global business territory, which is relatively weak compared to other financial holding companies. Through the bank and securities offices and branches in Hong Kong, New York, and London, he is strengthening global investment banking (GIB) capabilities and building local business infrastructure such as mergers and acquisitions (M&A), establishing subsidiaries, and joint ventures in emerging markets like Southeast Asia and South Asia to create an ‘Asian cluster.’ In January this year, through the subsidiary NH Nonghyup Capital, he invested 25% equity in the world’s largest fertilizer cooperative, the ‘Indian Fertilizer Cooperative,’ entering the Indian financial market in the form of a joint venture. This is the result of Chairman Kim’s efforts since taking office, including holding the ‘Nonghyup Financial Global Strategy Council’ to accelerate the achievement of mid- to long-term global business goals. The new targets set by Chairman Kim are to achieve assets of 6 trillion won, annual net profit of 160 billion won, and overseas networks in 28 locations across 13 countries by 2025.

Initially, some speculated that Chairman Kim’s reappointment might not be easy. After Lee Seonghee took office as Chairman of Nonghyup Central Association in February and began personnel reshuffles including NH Nonghyup Bank President Lee Daehun and subsidiary CEOs, there was speculation that the Nonghyup Financial chairman appointment might also be affected. However, due to strong performance and global business expansion since Chairman Kim’s appointment, the fact that Nonghyup Financial chairmen have typically been outsiders rather than internal Nonghyup personnel, and the precedent of former Chairman Kim Yonghwan receiving an additional one-year term after a two-year term, the likelihood of reappointment was seen as high. The potential internal organizational disruption that could arise from replacing both the Nonghyup Financial chairman and the Nonghyup Bank president simultaneously also acted as a deterrent.

Chairman Kim was born in 1957 in Boseong, Jeonnam, and graduated from Gwangju Jeil High School and Seoul National University’s Department of Economics. He entered public service in 1983 after passing the 27th Administrative Examination and has held positions such as Director of Bank Supervision at the Financial Supervisory Commission, Director of Financial Policy, Secretary-General of the Public Fund Management Committee, and Director of the Financial Intelligence Unit. He assumed the position of Chairman of Nonghyup Financial Group in April 2018.

A financial industry official said, “Since Chairman Kim took office, performance has been smooth, and there is a favorable atmosphere inside and outside Nonghyup Financial. His closeness to the current government is also a positive factor for reappointment. Given the difficult circumstances, it is necessary to establish strategies for crisis management to ensure Nonghyup Financial’s survival as well as mid- to long-term growth.”

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