'The Closer Has Arrived'... Shinhan Investment Corp. Unites Under CEO Lee Seon-hoon's Leadership

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Shinhan Investment Corp. is strengthening internal cohesion following the appointment of CEO Lee Seon-hoon. There are expectations that the management stance will also change to reinforce the unity of employees, which had been weakened after last year's loss incident involving exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

CEO Lee was born in 1968 and graduated from Seongnam High School and Swinburne University of Technology in Australia. He joined Shinhan Investment Corp. in 1999 and became known as a sales expert. He served as branch manager of Daechi Centreville in 2010 and Gwanghwamun branch in 2013, and was promoted to head of the Sales Promotion Department in 2016. A famous anecdote from his time as Gwanghwamun branch manager is that the branch employees went on a reward trip to Japan after achieving first place in sales.

He later became head of the Honam-Chungcheong Sales Headquarters in 2017 and head of the Gangnam Sales Headquarters in 2019. In 2020, he was promoted to group head (vice president) of the Strategic Planning Group and the Retail Group.

As his career shows, he is a core figure in Shinhan Investment Corp.'s retail division. A Shinhan Investment Corp. official said, "Unlike banks, securities firms have department heads managing the sales base, so the sales capabilities of department heads directly affect performance. CEO Lee has been recognized for his outstanding sales skills since his time as a department head and is also highly regarded for his attitude toward subordinates."

However, in 2022, CEO Lee left to become president and CEO of SI Securities. In 2024, he returned to Shinhan Investment Corp. as vice president of the Asset Management Division and Asset Management Business Group, and this year he was appointed CEO of Shinhan Investment Corp.

There are high expectations for him within Shinhan Investment Corp. because he knows the company better than anyone else and can objectively assess problems from an external perspective. For this reason, he is seen as the right person to resolve internal turmoil and get Shinhan Investment Corp.'s sales back on track.

CEO Lee is expected to first strengthen organizational cohesion and motivate employees. Due to the ETF loss incident, the company recorded a net loss of 16.8 billion KRW in the third quarter alone. Meanwhile, the organization is in a gloomy mood as it awaits disciplinary actions from the Financial Supervisory Service and audit results from Shinhan Financial Group.

In particular, a change in management stance is anticipated. Shinhan Investment Corp. had a strong culture of emphasizing performance. However, after the ETF loss incident, it is expected to strengthen internal controls and risk management.

A Shinhan Investment Corp. official said, "The big lesson was that even if you aggressively achieve results, a single major accident can destroy performance and employee bonuses. There is a consensus internally that it is important not to cause major accidents."

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