Woori Financial Group will appoint internal control experts to its board of directors. This move aims to recover customer trust shaken by the financial incident that occurred at Woori Bank and to further strengthen ethical management by attempting to change the composition of the group's board.
According to the financial sector on the 20th, 4 out of the 7 outside directors of Woori Financial are set to change. Director Jeong Chan-hyeong will complete his maximum six-year term and step down, while Director Ji Seong-bae will resign as his recommending entity, IMM Private Equity, lost its controlling shareholder status. Excluding Directors Park Seon-young and Lee Eun-joo, who were appointed for an initial two-year term last year, 2 out of the remaining directors, Shin Yo-hwan, Yoon Soo-young, and Yoon In-seob, will be replaced with new individuals.
It is reported that at least one of the new outside directors will be appointed as an internal control expert with a background in compliance monitoring and ethical management from previous positions.
This is also seen as a response to the request made by the Financial Supervisory Service on the 13th for financial holding companies to enhance the internal control roles of outside directors.
The number of outside directors will remain at a total of 7. Woori Financial plans to finalize and announce the new outside director candidates on the 28th, followed by formal appointments after shareholder approval on the 26th of next month.
Recently, Woori Financial's strong focus on strengthening internal controls is interpreted as an effort to recover from the shock of the illegal loan incident involving former Chairman Son Tae-seung's relatives.
Additionally, this aligns with Woori Financial's medium- to long-term goal of swiftly concluding the acquisition process of Tongyang Life Insurance and advancing toward becoming a comprehensive financial group.
To improve a business structure in which the bank accounts for over 90% of the group's net profit, acquiring an insurance company is essential, which requires prior approval from the authorities, as they demand strengthened internal controls.