[2022 National Audit] Bank Presidents Apologize to the Public for Consecutive Financial Accidents During the Audit

On the 11th, at the National Assembly's audit of the Financial Supervisory Service, Jin Ok-dong, CEO of Shinhan Bank (from left), Lee Jae-geun, CEO of Kookmin Bank, Lim Dong-soon, Senior Executive Vice President of NongHyup Bank, Park Sung-ho, CEO of Hana Bank, and Lee Won-duk, CEO of Woori Bank, attended. They are listening attentively to the lawmakers' inquiries. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporters Song Hwajeong and Song Seungseop] Bank presidents who appeared as witnesses at the National Assembly audit apologized to the public for the continuous financial accidents.

At the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee audit on the 11th, lawmakers continued to criticize the ongoing financial accidents such as embezzlement at banks and the malfunctioning internal control systems. Independent lawmaker Yang Jeongsuk pointed out, "According to the embezzlement incident log, Woori Bank experienced incidents worth around 70 billion KRW, and Hana Bank and local Nonghyup branches have had incidents for six consecutive years, Shinhan Bank for five consecutive years, and KB Kookmin Bank more than three times," asking, "Are we going to leave financial institutions' embezzlement incidents as they are?"

Democratic Party lawmaker So Byeongcheol said, "After receiving and analyzing internal control system data, I concluded that with such control systems, financial accidents will not decrease in the future," and requested, "Please explain why the internal control system is not functioning and how it will be improved."

People Power Party lawmaker Yoon Sanghyun stated, "There are continuous talks about internal control, and it is said to be a matter of awareness, but at the root of this awareness issue is a culture problem of performance supremacy," adding, "Because the CEO has the mindset to achieve the highest performance, internal control has been pushed aside in the process of increasing sales and minimizing costs."

In response, the bank presidents bowed their heads and apologized for causing concern to the public. They also promised to strengthen internal controls.

Lim Dongsun, Senior Vice President of Nonghyup Bank, said, "We sincerely apologize for causing public concern due to embezzlement incidents," and added, "To strengthen internal controls, we have doubled on-site inspections and implemented a system in April that uses IT investments to analyze 32 data items to assess branch risk levels, classifying them into red, yellow, and green categories to enhance monitoring and supervision."

Lee Wondeok, President of Woori Bank, said, "I would like to take this opportunity to apologize once again for causing concern due to embezzlement incidents," and promised, "Woori Bank will do its utmost to be reborn through strenuous efforts. We will focus on consumer and customer interests in our management."

Park Seongho, President of Hana Bank, stated, "We apologize for causing concern regarding embezzlement incidents," and explained, "Out of 18 embezzlement cases, 15 were detected internally, and the recovery rate exceeds 60%, which is higher than the bank average. We are making every effort to recover as much as possible, and the number of incidents is continuously decreasing. We will continue to pay attention and work harder."

Lee Jaegun, President of KB Kookmin Bank, said, "Prevention is practically the most important," and explained, "For branches or employees where many incidents occur, we have established a real-time system to check transactions before completion. However, even with a good system, if an individual intentionally deviates, it is difficult for the system to cover perfectly. Education for employees is important, and we will focus on this to eradicate such incidents."

Jin Okdong, President of Shinhan Bank, apologized, saying, "I apologize for the ongoing embezzlement incidents at banks that are causing concern," and added, "As a financial professional, the most important thing is professional ethics, which I feel is weakening. Internal education and CEO awareness are important." She continued, "I regret that inspections were not conducted efficiently," and pledged, "We will strictly enforce a zero-tolerance policy among employees."

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