[Asia Exclusive] Year-End Personnel Hot Issue in Banking Sector: President Son Byung-hwan

Who is Son Byung-hwan?
Recommended as Financial Holding Chairman just 10 months after becoming Bank President

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Sun-mi] 'First internal candidate for next chairman' 'Surprising promotion to chairman after only 10 months as bank president' 'First 1960s-born chairman among the five major financial holding companies.' These are all epithets attached to Son Byung-hwan, President of NH Nonghyup Bank.

Son is a hot topic in this year-end personnel reshuffle in the banking industry. He was appointed as the next chairman of Nonghyup Financial Group just 10 months after taking office as president of Nonghyup Bank in March. The tradition of appointing chairmen from economic bureaucrats at Nonghyup Financial was broken, and the age of financial holding company chairmen, previously dominated by those born in the 1950s, has become younger with Son. Without any controversy over a 'parachute appointment,' his leadership and achievements in digital finance while serving as president of Nonghyup Bank were fully recognized, leading to his sole recommendation as the next chairman of the financial holding company.

Son is considered a first-generation digital finance leader.

In 2015, while serving as head of the Smart Finance Department at Nonghyup Bank, he led digital financial innovation by introducing OpenAPI (Application Programming Interface), the foundation of open banking, for the first time in the banking industry. Under Son’s leadership, Nonghyup Bank has made significant progress this year in accelerating digital transformation (DT), achieving the vision of recreating a 'Digital Human Bank.' The number of customers using Nonghyup Bank’s digital channels and the volume and amount of non-face-to-face product sales have all increased significantly, and customer satisfaction has also greatly improved through customer-centric process improvements.

In a phone interview with Asia Economy on the 28th, Son expressed his determination regarding his recommendation as chairman of the financial holding company, saying, "I am determined to firmly complete the digital finance sector." He added, "Digital transformation (DT) is a long-term challenge for Nonghyup Financial, along with 'Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) management' and solidifying a stable revenue structure." He also said, "As the spread of COVID-19 and private equity fund issues are expected to continue next year, we will also review what role Nonghyup Financial can play for its customers."

He continued, "Unlike other financial holding companies, Nonghyup Financial has the unique characteristic of having Nonghyup Central Association as a shareholder," and said, "There will definitely be roles that only Nonghyup Financial can fulfill. Considering ways to preserve Nonghyup Financial’s identity is also a task we must undertake going forward."

Planning that maximizes the characteristics of affiliates within the financial holding company, including Nonghyup Bank, is also the responsibility of the next chairman. Son stated, "After establishing plans that reflect the individual characteristics of each affiliate, I will consider ways to combine them to create synergies at the financial holding company level."

◆ Career of President Son Byung-hwan

Born in 1962, Jinju, Gyeongnam

Graduated from Jinju High School in 1981

Graduated from Seoul National University, Department of Agricultural Education, in 1988

Joined Nonghyup Central Association in 1990

Team Leader, Planning and Coordination Office, Nonghyup Central Association, 2005

Head of Smart Finance Department, Nonghyup Bank, 2015

Head of Business Strategy Division, Nonghyup Financial Group, 2019

President of Nonghyup Bank, March 2020?Present

Sole candidate for chairman of Nonghyup Financial Group, December 2020

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