'New Wine in New Wineskins' Shinhan Financial Subsidiaries Also Undergo Generational Change

Shinhan Bank and Shinhan Card Appoint CEOs Born in the Mid to Late 1960s

Shinhan Financial Group held a Subsidiary Management Committee and an extraordinary board meeting on the 20th to recommend CEO candidates for 10 subsidiaries. From the left, Han Yong-gu, the designated president of Shinhan Bank; Moon Dong-kwon, the designated president of Shinhan Card; and Lee Young-jong, the designated president of Shinhan Life. Photo by Shinhan Financial Group

[Asia Economy Reporter Yu Je-hoon] Key subsidiaries of Shinhan Financial Group, including Shinhan Bank and Shinhan Card, have appointed CEOs born in the mid-to-late 1960s to work alongside Jin Ok-dong, the next designated CEO and Chairman of Shinhan Financial Group. This marks the beginning of a full-scale 'generation change' at Shinhan Financial, triggered by the unexpected resignation of Chairman Cho Yong-byeong and the appointment of Jin.

According to the financial sector on the 21st, Shinhan Financial held a subsidiary management committee and an extraordinary board meeting the previous day to recommend subsidiary CEOs, reorganize the holding company’s structure, and conduct executive personnel changes. Among the 10 subsidiaries whose current CEOs’ terms expire at the end of the year, new CEOs were appointed for four key subsidiaries: Shinhan Bank, Shinhan Card, Shinhan Life, and Shinhan Asset Trust.

The most notable feature of this Shinhan Financial subsidiary CEO appointment is the 'generation change.' Individuals born between 1966 and 1968, aged 54 to 56, were promoted to CEO positions of major affiliates, surpassing those born in the early 1960s. Since Jin, born in 1961, was promoted from Shinhan Bank President to the next CEO and Chairman, this is interpreted as a natural generational transition.

At Shinhan Bank, the core of Shinhan Financial, Han Yong-gu (56), a sales expert and head of the Sales Group (Executive Vice President), was appointed. Born in 1966, Han graduated from Cheongju High School and Sungkyunkwan University, joined Shinhan Bank in 1991, and has held positions such as Head of the Retirement Pension Business Department, Head of the ONE Shinhan Strategy Team at the holding company, Head of Management Support Group at Shinhan Investment Corp. (Vice President), and Head of the Sales Group at Shinhan Bank (Executive Vice President).

Just as Jin’s appointment as the next CEO and Chairman broke the initial expectation of Chairman Cho Yong-byeong’s third term, this personnel move also differed from public expectations, according to industry evaluations. A Shinhan Financial official explained, "Han, appointed as Shinhan Bank President, born in 1966, is among the youngest candidates considered. This reflects the generational change trend applied during the CEO and Chairman selection process."

For the successor to Lim Young-jin (62), the longest-serving CEO in the industry and President of Shinhan Card, Moon Dong-kwon (54), Head of the Management Planning Group (Vice President), born in 1968, was appointed. Moon graduated from Yonsei University and started his career at LG Installment Finance. He later moved to the former LG Card and, after the launch of Shinhan Card, served as Head of Management Team, Deputy Head of Strategic Planning Team, Head of Planning Headquarters, and Managing Director of the Management Planning Group. Upon final appointment, Moon is expected to become the first internally promoted CEO since the 2009 integration of Shinhan Card.

At Shinhan Life and Shinhan Asset Trust, Lee Young-jong (56), Head of the Retirement Pension Business Group (Vice President), and Lee Seung-su (55), Vice President in charge of Strategic New Business, were appointed as the next CEOs, continuing the generational change trend. Meanwhile, existing CEOs were retained at Shinhan Capital, Shinhan Asset Management, Shinhan Savings Bank, Shinhan AI, and Shinhan Venture Investment. At Shinhan Investment Corp., Kim Sang-tae (57), who was recruited in March this year, will lead the company as the sole CEO. Shinhan Financial stated that although the scale of this personnel change appears large due to CEO replacements in core subsidiaries such as the bank, card, securities, and life insurance this year, following last year’s CEO changes mainly in small and medium-sized companies like Jeju Bank, Shinhan ITAS, and Shinhan DS, this is a natural generational transition process aligned with the recommendation of the new chairman candidate.

Meanwhile, Shinhan Financial Group also carried out organizational restructuring and executive personnel changes. The Management Division, which was responsible for group financial performance management, was dismantled. The concurrent positions held by heads of Asset Management (WM), Retirement Pension, and GMS business groups at both the holding company and subsidiaries were separated. Additionally, the Group ONE Shinhan Division and Group New Business Division were newly established. Subsequent personnel changes include the promotion of Go Seok-hyun, who was head of the Group Strategy and Sustainable Management Division, to Vice President, and the transfer of Jung Dong-gi, Head of the GMS Business Group (Vice President), to the newly established Group New Business Division. Most other executives were reappointed. The much-anticipated Vice Chairman position was not created.

A Shinhan Financial Group board member stated, "This personnel decision was made after thorough consultation between Chairman Cho and the designated Jin. We expect the newly appointed CEOs and executives to leverage their accumulated experience and insights as management leaders to respond stably to market uncertainties and demonstrate strong drive and execution capabilities to elevate the group to the next level."

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