SFG Celebrates 6th Anniversary

Shinhan Financial 's personnel shake-up designed to fire up the organization

President Lee In-ho of Shinhan Financial Group, on the occasion of the 6th anniversary of the financial group on Sept. 3, said the take over of LG Card should be taken advantage of to boost synergy among the group's affiliates. During his speech on the 6th anniversary of the financial group, he said the affiliate companies of the SFG should work hard to expand the area of synergy from the merger and jointly own information on customers effectively and analyze them comprehensively to produce the most appropriate products and service to customers. Through these efforts, the group should able to let the market know that it is different from other financial groups and all of the group's affiliates should move toward common goals to show that they all work for 'One Firm.'He said the group's total assets has expanded four times since its launching standing at 260 trillion won now with the number of its customers coming to 23 million, 90 percent of economically active people.
In the meantime, SFG has been named as the financial group that has the best management structure in Korea by the Asset, a financial magazine published in Hong Kong. The financial magazine said it highly evaluates the Korean financial group's set up of the committee for recommendation of outside directors and the board of directors management committee to be ready for the listing of its shares on the New York Stock Exchange. The publication noted that the group has been improving its management structure to its long-term growth through M&As and restructuring, along with its listing on NYSE.
Shinhan Financial Group(SFG) completed its personnel reshuffle at the top of its organization by replacing old guards with younger generation of executives, most of them in their early 50s.
Early this month, Han Dong-woo, president of Shinhan Life Insurance has retired from the active line of business and Vice President Lee Jae-woo of Shinhan Financial Group, has been named to head the new Shinhan Card , merged with LG Card as CEO.
Shin Sang-hoon, Han Dong-woo and Hong Sung-kyun made up a trio of the post-Ra Ung-chan era leaders, following the retirement of the chairman of the Shinhan Financial Group. The retirement of Han seems to show that Shinhan Bank President Shin now has upper hand in the race to succeed the group chairman.
The reshuffle appears to have been made to reinvigorate the group following its take over of Chohung Bank, and LG Card and renew its image as a bigger financial group.
The financial group also reshuffled some 20 executives in its affiliates mostly at Shinhan Card, which will become a new credit card operator when its merger is completed as of Oct. 1. The move has also been aimed at replacing its old guards with new and younger executives. President Lee who was named to head the country's largest credit card company, Shinhan Card, through the merger with LG Card was born in 1950, He worked with Shinhan Card when it was separated from Shinhan Bank as headquarters manager of the credit card operation. He also played a key role in taking over LG Card by Shinhan Bank.
Assistant vice presidents of Shinhan Bank have also been replaced with younger managers. Assistant Vice President Kwon Jum-joo is the youngest of the bank's 10 assistant vice presidents at 52. Assistant vice presidents Jin Chan-ee, Lee Jeong-won, Park Chan also are born after 1955. Ten director-level executives of the new Shinhan Card are also young in late 40s and early 50s in their ages.
Vice President Lee Back-soon has been named to fill the vacancy left by President Lee Jae-woo. Lee joined Shinhan Bank in 1982 when Chairman Ra was heading the bank and served as personal secretary for three years for Ra. He served as director at the bank until last year. Assistant Vice President Kwon worked as head of the financial affairs team for the bank from 2004 and played a key role in the bank's take over of Chohung Bank.
The group also has taken into consideration of the personnel of Chohung Bank and therefore 7 assistant vice president of Shinhan Bank were Shinhan men, while 6 were Chohung men. The group, however, the personnel change at Shinhan Card was based on the assets of the two merged companies: 7 to 3 in the number of directors.
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(photo above) The headquarters building of Shinhan Financial Group near South Gate in downtown Seoul. (photo right) President Lee In-ho of Shinhan Financial Group.