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| Unionists of the Korean Financial Industry Union (KFIU) stage a protest against the government exerting its influence in the appointments of the heads of financial firms, in front of the presidential office in Yongsan District in Seoul, Monday. Yonhap |
Woori Financial, BNK, IBK unions criticize gov't exerting influence in chairman appointments
By Anna J. Park
The Korean Financial Industry Union (KFIU), together with the unions of financial companies, are raising voices of criticism and protest against the Yoon administration meddling in the appointments of the heads of the major financial groups.
Criticism began to flare up when NongHyup Financial Group selected Lee Suk-joon, a former high-ranking official and ex-chief of Yoon Suk-yeol's presidential campaign, as the sole nominee for the post of the group's next chairman earlier this week. The nomination was a surprise to the market, which expected incumbent Chairman Son Byung-hwan to maintain his post for another term based on his solid leadership.
Son's failure to keep his post for another term, despite having performed successfully, is not the first such case seen in the local financial sector lately. Shinhan Financial Group's incumbent chairman, Cho Yong-byoung, also decided not to run for another term earlier this month, sending a shock to the market, which had been expecting him to stay on for another term.
As the government has been wielding its influence over major financial groups' leadership, some former governmental officials are already being mentioned as potential nominees for Woori Financial Group's next chairman. This situation comes after the group completed its privatization earlier this year. Incumbent Chairman Son Tae-seung's term is slated to end next March.
"The Yoon Suk-yeol administration meddling in the appointments of financial group chairmen is causing concern," said Park Hong-bae, union leader of the KFIU. "Any appointment of incompetent nominees based on government connections is an act that will ruin the future of an organization."
Woori Financial Group's company union also issued a statement criticizing the government for violating the principle of market liberalism.
"Despite the financial authorities placing importance on fair and transparent appointment processes, the government has been contradicting itself by directly meddling into the appointment of the chairman of Woori Financial Group," the company union statement reads. "It is a complete violation of the government's emphasis on the rule of law and the principle of market liberalism."
BNK Financial Group's sub-union also criticized the government for attempting to appoint "old-school" former high-ranking officials as financial group chiefs.
"As the digital transformation has become key to determining the future of financial groups, any appointments by external influence of former government officials, who have been away from the business scene for a long time, will make companies fall behind the competition," BNK Busan Bank's union said.
The company union of Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) has also refused to sit idly by, as some former officials' names, including former Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) chief Jeong Eun-bo, have been dropped as the bank's next leader.
"It would disgrace the Yoon administration if the former FSS chief attempts to lead a bank that he once had supervisory authority over," the IBK's company union criticized.
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