Regional Bank Presidents, Defying Reappointment Expectations, Replaced One After Another... Emphasis on Innovation Over Management

President Bindae-in of Busan Bank and President Hwang Yoon-chul of Gyeongnam Bank to Step Down
Nomination Committee: "Must Actively Respond to Change and Drive Innovation"

Bindae-in, President of Busan Bank (left), Hwang Yoon-chul, President of Gyeongnam Bank

Heads of regional banks are being replaced one after another, contrary to expectations of their reappointment both inside and outside. This is interpreted as a shift in management focus from managing the COVID-19 crisis to innovation and resurgence.

According to the banking sector on the 10th, the executive candidate recommendation committees of Busan Bank and Gyeongnam Bank, the main affiliates of BNK Financial Group, held presentations yesterday to listen to the management status and vision of the presidential candidates and narrowed down the candidates.

The candidates for Busan Bank president included the current president Bin Dae-in, Vice President An Gam-chan, BNK Financial Vice President Myeong Hyeong-guk, and Vice President Kim Young-moon. Through this presentation, the candidate pool was narrowed down to Vice President An and Vice President Myeong.

For Gyeongnam Bank, where the candidate pool consisted of current President Hwang Yoon-chul, Vice President Choi Hong-young, and BNK Financial Vice President Kim Young-moon, Vice President Choi and Vice President Kim were selected as the final candidates.

In the regional banking sector, there had been steady voices predicting the reappointment of President Bin and President Hwang.

Although last year's performance was somewhat sluggish, it was difficult to evaluate based solely on surface numbers considering the impact of COVID-19, and rather, more stable management capabilities were expected to be an important consideration.

Since Kim Ji-wan, chairman of BNK Financial Group, still has two years left in his term, there was also a view that stability would be emphasized over rapid change.

However, it is reported that they expressed their intention to retire before the recommendation committee meeting and decided to step down from the presidency at the end of this month when their terms expire.

Busan Bank's net profit, which was 374.8 billion KRW in 2019, decreased to 308.5 billion KRW last year, and Gyeongnam Bank's net profit fell from 181.7 billion KRW to 164.6 billion KRW.

The recommendation committee explained, "We primarily considered the need to actively respond to the changing management environment and to vigorously promote organizational change and innovation." The committee plans to recommend the final candidate to the board after interviews on the 16th.

Im Yong-taek, who was expected to smoothly succeed in his fourth term as president of Jeonbuk Bank, also announced his intention to retire in January, and Seo Han-guk, senior vice president, was selected as the first internally promoted president in the bank's 52-year history.

A regional bank official said, "Overall, a larger-than-expected leadership change is taking place," adding, "As the financial environment rapidly changes and the local economy continues to shrink due to COVID-19, there seems to be a strong movement to find new avenues for growth."

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