Record earnings bolster reappointment as Shinhan looks to sustain momentum
Shinhan Financial Group Chair Jin Ok-dong, 64, was tapped for a second term with the banking group Thursday. He is expected to serve another three-year term following approval from shareholders in March.
The group’s chairperson recommendation committee selected Jin as the final candidate after interviewing four shortlisted contenders, including Jin himself, Shinhan Bank CEO Jung Sang-hyuk and Shinhan Securities CEO Lee Sun-hoon, along with an external candidate who requested anonymity.
“I plan to outline what Shinhan Financial needs and how it can change to prosper over the next 50 to 100 years,” Jin told reporters ahead of the final interview at the group’s headquarters in central Seoul.
“I will reiterate how Shinhan Financial can change meaningfully and how the group can return to the principles it was built on when it was founded 40 years ago."
The committee said Jin’s exceptional competence in group management was a key factor in its decision, along with other qualities.
“Jin was highly evaluated not only for his financial performance, but also for strengthening the group’s future competitiveness in digital and global businesses,” Kwak Su-keun, head of the chairperson recommendation committee, told press following the selection.
“Jin has led the group successfully over the past three years without any notable shortcomings,” he said, adding that Jin has pursued sustainable management from a long-term perspective.
Having graduated from a commercial high school, Jin began his career at the Industrial Bank of Korea in 1980. He later joined Shinhan Bank in 1986.
Jin is widely regarded as a Japanese market expert after spending some two decades working there. He even led the establishment of SBJ Bank, Shinhan Bank’s subsidiary in Japan.
Jin was named Shinhan Bank’s CEO in 2019 and was later selected to lead the banking group in 2023 after former Chair Cho Yong-byoung decided not to seek a third term.
Jin was widely expected to serve a second term, having managed the group to success over the past three years. Since Jin took office in 2023, the banking group has reported record earnings for two consecutive years. It also posted an all-time high cumulative profit through the third quarter of this year, already surpassing last year’s full-year net income.
Jin is the first sitting financial holding group chief to secure a consecutive term under the Lee Jae Myung administration. Other banking group chiefs, including KB Financial Group’s Yang Jong-hee and Woori Financial Group’s Yim Jong-ryong, are also seeking reappointment.
Jin will have to receive final confirmation for the appointment from shareholders through a meeting slated for March. If his nomination is confirmed, Jin will start a three-year term that ends in March 2029.
silverstar@heraldcorp.com
