[1mm Financial Talk] Not Guilty in Hiring-Related Trial... Hana Financial Group's 'Ham Young-joo Ship' Passes the Final Hurdle

Acquittal in Hiring-Related Trial... DLF Severe Disciplinary Minimum Lawsuit Verdict Due on 14th
March Shareholders' Meeting Near... Too Late to Change Already
Affiliate CEO Appointments Also Made... 'Ham Young-joo Administration' Effectively Launched

Ham Young-joo, Nominee for Chairman of Hana Financial Group

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] Ham Young-joo, the vice chairman nominated as the next chairman of Hana Financial Group, was acquitted in the first trial related to recruitment on the 11th. The administrative lawsuit to cancel the Financial Supervisory Service’s (FSS) heavy disciplinary action regarding the Derivative Linked Fund (DLF) is expected to be the final hurdle. Since the regular shareholders' meeting is already approaching, there is insufficient physical time to replace the candidate, leading to the outlook that the Ham Young-joo administration has effectively begun.

First hurdle cleared in the lawsuit that was holding him back... Decision expected early next week

According to the financial industry, the Seoul Western District Court Criminal Division 4 (Judge Park Bo-mi) acquitted Vice Chairman Ham in the afternoon. Previously, at the sentencing hearing, the prosecution had requested a sentence of three years in prison and a fine of 5 million KRW, accusing him of manipulating scores of disqualified candidates by intervening in the document screening, training camp, and executive interviews during the 2015 new employee recruitment when he was the head of Hana Bank, following a request from an acquaintance. It appears that the precedent of Shin Yong-byeong, chairman of Shinhan Financial Group, who was acquitted in the appellate trial for recruitment-related charges, influenced this outcome.

Ham’s legal counsel stated, "As a private company, Hana Bank can review various factors to select the most suitable talent, and there is no principle that only the highest scorers must be hired," adding, "The prosecution identified the victim of this case as the interviewers, but according to Supreme Court precedents, interviewers cannot be considered victims of obstruction of business, and therefore the crime itself does not stand."

However, the court sentenced former Hana Bank Vice President Jang Ki-yong, who was indicted alongside Ham, to six months in prison with a two-year probation, and fined Hana Bank 7 million KRW under the joint penalty provision for violating the Act on Gender Equality in Employment and Work-Family Balance Support.

There is another lawsuit involving him. The administrative lawsuit to cancel the FSS’s ‘disciplinary warning’ heavy sanction related to the incomplete sales of overseas interest rate-linked derivative-linked funds (DLF) will have its verdict on the 14th. The verdict was originally scheduled for the 16th of last month but was postponed once. This is believed to be due to changes in the presiding judge caused by regular judicial personnel reshuffling. If the FSS’s disciplinary warning is confirmed, he will face a three-year employment restriction penalty.

Expecting no charges... Also lacking time

Having already overcome one hurdle, the industry expects Vice Chairman Ham to be appointed chairman without major issues. This is because Son Tae-seung, chairman of Woori Financial Group, who also received a heavy sanction related to DLF, won the cancellation lawsuit.

From Hana Financial’s perspective, there is neither reason nor time to change the candidate now. Since the agenda to appoint the chairman is included in the shareholders' meeting on the 25th, it is too tight to select a new chairman candidate at this point. The ‘Ham Young-joo administration’ has effectively started as subsidiary CEOs have been successively replaced. Except for Park Sung-ho, Hana Bank president with remaining term, Lee Eun-hyung, Hana Financial Investment president, and Kwon Gil-joo, Hana Card president recommended for reappointment, all others have been replaced. The replaced executives are all born in the 1960s, showing that a ‘generation change’ has already been pursued. Vice Chairman Ji Sung-kyu, who was considered a key executive within the holding company alongside Ham, has decided to move to Bodyfriend. A financial industry insider said, "Since the ‘Ham Young-joo chairman system’ has effectively started, there is no practical benefit or reason to reverse everything now, and the burden would be great. Unless an unexpected major twist occurs in the trial, the leadership change will proceed smoothly."

Meanwhile, after the verdict on the recruitment-related trial, Vice Chairman Ham said, "I am very sorry for causing much concern even before the trial result. I want to express that this incident has made me determined to manage more transparently and fairly."

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