[News Space=Reporter seungwon lee] As Hana Financial Group held a shareholders' meeting on the 25th and e

lected Chairman Young-Joo Ham, attention is focused on the outcome as the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Democratization, the Financial Justice Coalition, the People's Economy Research Institute, the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (hereinafter referred to as the Financial Solidarity), and the global proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) are raising voices of opposition. 

Another uncomfortable aspect is that even Financial Supervisory Service Governor Lee Bok-hyun expressed opposition to the reappointment, but the reappointment was pushed through regardless of the opinions of the financial industry.

On December 23 last year, the Chairman Recommendation Committee (Chairman Recommendation Committee) recommended Chairman Ham Young-joo as the sole candidate for the next chairman, stating that he “contributed to achieving the best management performance since the company’s founding and renewing the highest stock price ever,” and decided to extend his term at this shareholders’ meeting.

The Financial Solidarity Association stated, “We oppose the reappointment of Chairman Ham Young-joo, who has damaged the trust of financial consumers through the legal risks related to the hiring corruption case and the overseas interest rate-linked derivative linked fund (DLF) incident.”

The first of their core arguments against this is that Chairman Ham Young-joo carries a significant ‘judicial risk.’

Chairman Ham Young-joo was sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for two years, in the second trial on charges of so-called “recruitment corruption” by ordering certain applicants to pass the document and interview screening and ordering them to “hire more men” (violation of the Act on Equal Employment Opportunity for Men and Women and Work-Family Balance Support) while serving as the president of Hana Bank from 2015 to 2016.

Regarding this, the final ruling by the Supreme Court is currently pending, and if a guilty verdict (imprisonment or suspended sentence of a term of imprisonment or heavier) is confirmed during the term, Chairman Ham will lose his position as chairman according to the Financial Companies Governance Structure Act.

The Financial Solidarity Association strongly stated its position, saying, "It is difficult to accept the decision to reappoint Chairman Ham, who not only caused social controversy due to the hiring scandal, but also faces legal risks due to related incidents."

In particular, hiring corruption is not a matter to be taken lightly, even when considering the moral responsibilities of financial institutions.

In addition, Chairman Ham’s risk does not end with legal risk. Chairman Ham received a heavy disciplinary action of ‘disciplinary warning’ from financial authorities due to the incomplete sale of DLF while he was the CEO of Hana Bank. Even though the level of disciplinary action was lowered to a ‘cautionary warning’ by the Supreme Court’s decision last year, it is an undeniable fact that large-scale incomplete sales such as DLF occurred at Hana Bank.

The Financial Solidarity claimed, "It was revealed that the internal control of the management, including Chairman Ham at the time, was very inadequate, and there was also criticism that they intentionally turned a blind eye to the structural occurrence of large-scale incomplete sales for short-term profits."

In particular, "Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), a global proxy advisory firm, was also subject to minor sanctions and not suspended from its duties, but Chairman Ham is primarily responsible for poor supervision, and the serious damage to consumers must also be taken into consideration," they said, adding, "We oppose Chairman Ham's reappointment due to the DLF incident."

This also shows that global investors are concerned that Hana Financial Group's decision to extend its term could damage its credibility.

Furthermore, the union emphasized that Chairman Ham even committed the shameless act of revising internal regulations himself to secure his own reelection.

On December 1st of last year, Hana Financial Group revised its internal governance regulations to allow Chairman Ham to serve out the entire three-year term if he is reappointed. According to the existing regulations, Chairman Ham, who is currently 68 years old, could only serve out the two-year term until March 2027, when the first general shareholders' meeting will be held after he turns 70, even if he is reappointed. However, with this revision, he will be able to serve out the entire term until March 2028 if he is reappointed.

Earlier, Financial Supervisory Service Governor Lee Bok-hyun said, “I don’t think Chairman Ham Young-joo will seek reappointment if he is criticized for self-revision.” This was an indirect criticism of Chairman Ham’s “self-revision” attempt, but Hana Financial Group went so far as to conduct a formality of anonymous voting by the board of directors to guarantee Chairman Ham’s term.

The Financial Solidarity Association emphasized, “Hana Financial Group should seriously reconsider whether it is justifiable to push for the reappointment of Chairman Ham, who clearly poses a legal risk,” and “There is no reason why a person with the taint of a Supreme Court conviction for hiring corruption and failure to protect financial consumers should continue to remain as the head of a financial company.”

In particular, he added, "It is shameless for such a person to be reappointed as it threatens the restoration of trust in financial institutions and sustainable management, and makes victims of hiring corruption cry twice." He added, "We must deeply consider what consequences a choice that betrays the trust of financial consumers will ultimately bring."