The First Savings Bank Federation Chairman from the Industry... "Personally Visiting and Persuading Regional Representatives"

New Savings Bank Association Chairman: Oh Hwa-kyung, CEO of Hana Savings Bank
Elected without runoff by securing over two-thirds of valid votes
Strengths include steadily built network and high financial understanding
Also showed proactiveness by persuading down to local regions

Oh Hwa-kyung, new President of the Korea Federation of Savings Banks. Photo by Korea Federation of Savings Banks

Oh Hwa-kyung, CEO of Hana Savings Bank, was elected as the new chairman of the Korea Federation of Savings Banks, drawing attention to the background of her election. It was unprecedented for a purely private savings bank executive to become chairman, and she was elected by an overwhelming margin without a runoff vote. Industry insiders interpret that Oh’s proactiveness, network, and the deep limitations of bureaucrat candidates influenced voters’ decisions.

According to the financial sector on the 18th, the Korea Federation of Savings Banks held an extraordinary general meeting the previous day at The-K Hotel in Seocho-gu, Seoul, where representatives from 79 member savings banks gathered to elect the new chairman. After screening by the Chairman Candidate Recommendation Committee, Oh Hwa-kyung and Lee Hae-sun, a former market surveillance committee chairman at the Korea Exchange and a career bureaucrat from the Financial Services Commission, emerged as the final candidates. Oh was elected as the new chairman and began her three-year term that day.

Initially, it was widely expected that Oh would be at a disadvantage or face a close race in the election. Most previous chairmen of the Korea Federation of Savings Banks were former bureaucrats, and there had been no cases of a savings bank executive winning the position. Among private-sector savings bank executives, Lee Soon-woo, the 17th chairman who previously served as chairman of Woori Financial Group, is notable. Kwak Hoo-seop, the 10th chairman who was formerly CEO of Hannam Credit Union, also had significant bureaucratic experience, having served as a presidential secretary and deputy mayor of Seoul, making it difficult to classify him as purely private-sector.

However, the result was a landslide victory for Oh. To be elected chairman of the Korea Federation of Savings Banks, a candidate must receive at least two-thirds of the votes from attending members. If no candidate achieves this, a second runoff vote is held where a majority is required. Oh received 53 votes (67.9%) out of 78 valid votes, excluding one invalid vote, winning without a runoff.

"Strengths in Financial Understanding, Network, and Proactiveness"

Industry consensus attributes Oh’s victory largely to her financial career. She served as CEO of Aju Savings Bank in 2012 and Hana Savings Bank in 2018, managing both small-to-medium and large savings banks based in regional areas and Seoul, respectively. Additionally, she worked at Eugene Securities, HSBC Bank, and Aju Capital, earning a reputation for high financial literacy.

Her extensive network, built steadily over time, also played a significant role. A savings bank official commented, "Oh has always had a wide network across bureaucrats and the industry," adding, "There are stories that many people both inside and outside helped her in this election."

Her early and active expression of intent to run for the chairman position also likely contributed. Oh announced her candidacy and began campaigning in December last year. She reportedly appealed for support by meeting directly not only with large companies in the metropolitan area but also with representatives of small and medium-sized savings banks in various regions.

Meanwhile, accumulated distrust toward bureaucrat candidates was also cited as a cause. Despite electing bureaucrats to resolve pressing issues such as lowering deposit insurance rates and introducing negative regulation, no progress has been made, leading to dissatisfaction. Another savings bank official explained, "Since the financial industry is heavily regulated, it was believed that electing bureaucrats would help ease regulations through communication. However, since regulations remain unchanged, expectations for bureaucrat candidates are not as high as before."

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