Election for Savings Bank Central Association President to Conclude by Late April... Significant Possibility of Oh Hwa-kyung's Reappointment

Schedule to Be Set by Mid-March at the Latest, Vote by End of April
Election Could Be Accelerated if Extraordinary Meeting Is Held
No Challenger for President Oh... Authorities Show Limited Interest

The next president of the Korea Federation of Savings Banks is expected to be decided as early as early April, and no later than the end of April. Considering the agreement process with financial authorities, it is highly likely that the president will be chosen 30 to 40 days after the formation of the five-member Election Management Committee. The board of directors meeting held on the 20th did not set the election schedule, and the official election schedule is expected to begin after the board's resolution next month. Since no challenger to the current president Oh Hwa-kyung (19th term) has emerged yet, the likelihood of President Oh’s reappointment remains strong.

Savings Bank logo image. Provided by the Korea Federation of Savings Banks

According to sources in the financial sector, from 3 p.m. on that day, the federation’s directors discussed various agenda items, including the formation of the Presidential Candidate Recommendation Committee and the Election Management Committee for the upcoming presidential election, at the headquarters office in Mapo-gu, Seoul, for about two hours. First, they approved the composition of the seven-member Candidate Recommendation Committee. This committee is again composed of seven members: four representatives from savings banks (board members, branch heads, etc.), two external professional directors, and one former or current federation president. The federation did not disclose the members of the Candidate Recommendation Committee. However, the one federation president member was a former president, not President Oh. An industry insider explained, "Since the incumbent president might run, by convention, the seat for one former or current federation president on the Candidate Recommendation Committee has never been occupied by the incumbent president." The board also decided to form the Election Management Committee with five members.

The election schedule, which is of great interest to the industry, was not decided that day. The federation stated, "The election-related schedule will be discussed later." It was difficult to finalize the schedule because it must go through coordination between the board and the authorities. The board meeting that will decide the election schedule is expected to be held around the 20th of next month at the latest. Typically, the presidential election vote takes place 40 days after the board announces the election schedule. If the schedule is set at the board meeting on the 20th of next month, candidate announcements are expected by April 15, and a temporary general meeting will be held by April 29 to conduct the presidential vote. According to federation regulations, if the board chair deems it necessary, an extraordinary board meeting can be convened at any time, so the schedule could be accelerated. This means it is highly unlikely that the election will extend beyond the end of April.

After forming the Candidate Recommendation Committee and the Election Management Committee, the federation will accept applications, then narrow down the candidates through a long list and a short list. If there are multiple candidates, a primary election will be held after interviews with each candidate. If no candidate other than President Oh appears, the final candidate will be elected at the general meeting. The federation’s presidential vote is conducted on the principle of "one vote per each of the 79 member companies." The winning quorum requires a majority attendance of member companies and approval by at least two-thirds of the attending members.

Within the industry, there is a strong call to promptly hold the federation president election to prevent a "leadership vacuum" and to address challenges such as the cleanup of non-performing project financing (PF) sites. No rumors have yet surfaced regarding candidates recommended by the authorities. It is also not known who has declared candidacy from the private sector.

Meanwhile, according to industry sources, agenda items such as the establishment of a subsidiary specializing in non-performing loan (NPL) purchases and the formation of a third joint fund were also discussed at the board meeting that day. The NPL subsidiary is planned to create a system to continuously absorb non-performing loans. It is also reported that opinions were exchanged on jointly selling PFs after creating funds with banks. Savings banks need to sell non-performing loans to manage asset soundness but are struggling with the sales process.

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