Financial Supervisory Service criticizes CEO succession procedures

Lee Chan-jin, head of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), has publicly criticized the inadequacy of CEO succession procedures within financial holding companies. The FSS noted that many companies lack specific qualification requirements for candidates, fail to implement minimum verification periods during the candidate selection process, and maintain superficial candidate pools. The regulator emphasized the need for increased transparency and fairness in the selection, verification, and evaluation of executives.

This criticism comes as 54 CEOs across five major financial groups face the end of their terms this year. The financial sector has expressed concern regarding the lack of specific guidelines, noting difficulty in determining how to adjust internal regulations to meet regulatory expectations without clear benchmarks.

Among the institutions under scrutiny is JB Financial Group, where Chairman Kim Ki-hong is currently serving his third term. Unlike other groups, JB Financial's internal structure allows the Chairman to serve as the chairperson of the committee responsible for recommending subsidiary CEOs, raising questions about the effectiveness of internal checks and balances during the succession process.